Seven Days
by IdPattThat
Summary: He spent ninety years searching for vengeance, but his eternity is about to be cut short. With seven days left, he'll find that there are much more important things worth fighting for. AU, Edward/Leah.
1. Prologue

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight related, yadda yadda and all that good stuff. **

**This story will post daily (first full chapter tomorrow) and will complete next Saturday. **

**Killerlashes makes magic with the crap I give her. **

**RCH81 and rosellebec preread and gave lovely feedback. **

**This is the only annoying note you'll get from me. :) **

Seven Days – Prologue

"Don't move." The voice was low in my ear, the hand tight on my throat.

I rolled my eyes and shoved as hard as I could, sending the body across the alley and into the brick wall. The concrete cracked and a cloud of dust billowed out around the vampire.

"Sorry handsome, you're not really my type." I smirked as he got to his feet and turned to walk away. He was seriously putting a damper on my evening.

"Cullen!" he called, and was in front of me before I could blink.

_Can't let him leave. Have to wait for Aro. _

"I have no intention of speaking to _Aro_," I spat. "You can tell him that."

"He has an offer for you," he explained.

"Again, I have no interest. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business to tend to."

"I'm ordered to kill you if you leave." His face was grim, but I laughed.

"Oh, you can try."

I was against the wall before I could register what was happening. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, too worried about Aro to _actually_ try and kill me.

A new set of thoughts flooded my head and a high-pitched laugh sounded from behind us.

"Now, now, Demetri. I'm here, there's no need to kill our Edward."

Demetri loosened his grip on me and I pushed him away, smoothing my shirt and glaring at him for good measure.

"You've been busy, Mr. Cullen," Aro's voice was breathy and soft and…weird. I could tell his skin was different; it was so pale it looked translucent, like ancient paper, so he seemed incredibly fragile, as if a strong breeze would crumple him. Yet from what Carlisle had told me, I knew he was incredibly old and very, _very _powerful.

"_If you do come in contact with him – and you will – don't touch him. Whatever you do, Edward, remember that, please?" _

I hadn't paid much attention to Carlisle when he had said that, but now, as the vampire in question stood before me, it was all I could think about. He made his way to me, vivid red eyes and crisp black wool, Death in a made-to-measure suit. Aro held out his hand, his thoughts abnormally blank.

I eyed his hand warily and shoved my own in my pockets in refusal.

"Carlisle has taught you well," Aro chuckled dryly. "It seems you've been, ah... taking things into your own hands, dear boy."

I shrugged. "I do what I have to do."

_Idiot._

I turned to Demetri, whose eyes widened in shock. I tapped my head in a silent reminder – _mind reader._ He rolled his eyes and strolled to the end of the alley to keep watch, because apparently two men in designer suits would draw a crowd.

"Your work does not go unnoticed, Edward. Which is why I'm here," Aro said, stepping toward me. I shifted my feet, afraid for the first time all night. "I'd like to make you an offer."

"I have no interest in joining you," I retorted.

Aro smiled. "Your ability is uncanny. You would be most useful."

"I won't – "

"You will. Or you will die. You cannot keep doing these things and continue to go unpunished. We will stop you."

I didn't respond, but if my heart were still beating it would have been going a mile a minute.

"You have seven days, Edward. Choose wisely."


	2. Sunday

Seven Days – Sunday

**Edward **

"Coffee, black. Thank you," I told the waitress and set down my menu. I didn't need the coffee, obviously, but I needed it to seem normal_._ She brought me the cup and smiled. I returned the smile and smirked to myself as her face flushed, her heart rate sped up, and she stumbled away.

_He's gorgeous! _her thoughts practically screamed at me and I rolled my eyes. Humans were so easy to read.

I held the cup between my hands, the heat of it making my skin an almost human temperature. I glanced around my choice of location: a small and dingy diner, a quiet little spot just outside of Forks, Washington. Barely worth its dot on the map, Forks was the place where my "family" and I had made a home many years ago. Alice had _seen_ me here and called to tell me just after the encounter with Aro.

_Aro._

The thought of him made my skin crawl, figuratively speaking, of course. I'd always prided myself on not being fearful; it made what I was doing so much easier. But with Aro…it was different. Maybe because I knew what he could do to me– what he _would _do to me given the chance.

I wished Alice would have- _could_ have told me how it ended.

"_I don't know what you're going to do, Edward. You're confused," she told me. I could practically see her frown, dark delicate brows drawing together to wrinkle her smooth forehead. _

"_Tell me about it," I muttered, and kicked at a small rock that lay helplessly on the pavement. It went flying across the street and slammed into the window of a car, shattering it and setting off the alarm._

"_What are you doing?" Alice asked with a hint of reproach in her voice. _

"_Just walking," I lied. _

"_Go back to that car and leave them the money to replace their window," she instructed. _

_I sighed and did so. _

"_Happy now?" I grumbled. She laughed, though it was short-lived._

"_No. I miss you. We all miss you," Alice whispered. _

"_Well, it seems you'd better get used to it." _

"Can I get you anything else, sir?" My waitress was back, heavily perfumed, lips covered with a sticky coat of gloss, teased hair freshly ratted.

"No, thank you." I gave her a quick nod and went back to pretending to drink my coffee. Alice had sent me here for a reason, but I had yet to figure it out. So far there was nothing here, and there weren't many places left to look.

"Hey, Leah." I heard my waitress greet someone as the bell on the diner's door rang quietly.

"How's it going, Jess?" Leah replied, taking her place behind the counter. I watched as she tied on an apron and pulled her short, dark hair back.

"Check out the piece in the corner," Jess whispered. Leah laughed politely, but her thoughts betrayed the little smile on her face.

_Fucking stupid…can't control herself… _

She turned to me still, her dark eyes curious. I met her gaze and Leah looked away quickly. I watched the blood rise in her face and could hear her heartbeat from across the diner. I almost laughed until she looked up again. What I'd originally mistaken for lust was in actuality something completely different.

It was anger, with just a touch of confusion.

She reminded me briefly of Rosalie, the day Jasper and I broke a vase she'd saved from her human life wrestling in the living room of our home in New Haven.

I smiled at the memory and tried to push the girl's face from my mind. Instead, I tried listening to hers. It was tough, though. When I first heard her it was just bits and pieces, like an FM radio with bad reception.

_Can't be…looks different…have to call… _

Her thoughts moved quickly, but I caught enough to know that I needed to leave.

Quickly.

I dropped some money on the table and made my way out of the diner before anything could happen.

Did she know what I was? If so, why wasn't she afraid? And _seriously_, what the fuck kind of place had Alice sent me to?

I glanced around once I'd reached the parking lot, completely aware that she'd followed me out of the diner.

"What are you doing here?" Leah's voice sounded from behind me.

I turned slowly, so as not so startle her. "I was simply enjoying a cup of coffee; is that against the law now?" I said with a polite smile.

"Don't come any closer, leech," she spat the words at me and took a step backward.

I faltered and stopped, mildly perplexed.

She _did_ know what I was, though the term "leech" was a little derogatory. I'd have to remember to tell her that. The look in her eyes was murderous, however, and I wasn't sure if I'd get the chance...

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," I said quietly, taking a cautious step toward her.

"Leech. Bloodsucker._ Vampire_," she snarled, like she was talking to a mentally challenged person.

I felt the corners of my mouth turn up at her rant. She was kind of cute, in a weird, angry sort of way.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked nervously.

I shrugged. I wasn't quite sure why I was smiling; I hadn't done so in so long.

"You're different than the other ones I've seen. You smell different, too," she said taking a small step forward.

"You can…smell me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It's weird. You smell… sweet."

I grinned. "Aw, that's nice of you."

"Too sweet actually," she explained and wrinkled her nose. "It's kind of disgusting. It's making me feel nauseated."

"You sweet-talker, you. No woman has ever said that to me," I said with a sarcastic press of my hand over my cold, dead heart.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," she retorted. "Now, I'll ask you again, what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for something," I told her.

"There's nothing here for you. I suggest you leave. Now." The look in her eyes was full of warning, but I couldn't back down. I knew there was something there for me, that Alice had seen me in Forks for a reason.

"I can't. I told you, I'm looking for something. I can't leave until I've found what I'm looking for." I resisted the impulse to start quoting U2 lyrics; this pretty, wary Native girl would be too young to get the joke.

"Listen, leech– "

"Manners, manners," I chided, taking unaccountable joy in needling her. "My name is Edward."

"Super, _Edward_," she said my name through clenched teeth and looked around. "Now that we've exchanged niceties, let me make one thing clear."

"Please do," I replied.

"If you stick around, you'll die. Well, more dead than you already are."

"Back to the death threats, are we?" I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "If I don't stick around, others will die."

Leah narrowed her eyes as her thoughts drifted and she tried to figure out what I meant. "You've got about five minutes before my friends show up, Edward," Leah warned.

I rolled my eyes but heeded her words. "It was a pleasure meeting you too, Leah." Making her a little mock-bow, I smirked and made my way to the sensible sedan Carlisle suggested I drive while I was in town. Something about "not drawing attention to myself". I had no idea what he meant, obviously.

I didn't know what Leah meant or why she would warn me about her friends. She was strangely good at closing her mind off, though, like it was a practiced behavior, something she did over and over.

I tried to push the thought of her out of my mind. She was just an ordinary girl in a diner- there was nothing more to her.

xXx

**Leah**

"What did he say _exactly_?" Sam asked again. I rolled my eyes and was grateful that he couldn't read my mind at that exact moment.

"I told you," I sighed. "He said that if he didn't stay others would die." Emily placed a cup of hot tea in front of me, but I pushed it away. I wasn't upset, and even if I was, I wouldn't have wanted any of her fucking tea-and-sympathy crap anyways.

"What does that mean?" Sam muttered.

"That, um, if he leaves people will die?" Seth offered dryly under his breath. I resisted the urge to snort. My sweet little brother was turning into a smartass. I'd never been prouder.

Sam glared at him for a moment before turning to me again.

"Find out what he means. You can go first thing in the morning," he told me.

"She can't go alone!" Seth cried and I spun around quickly. He tried so hard to be the man of the family. My heart gave a funny little squeeze as I thought of how proud Dad would've been.

"Oh, are you going to protect me?" I asked, softening my sarcasm with a genuine smile.

"He's a vampire, Leah!" Seth argued.

"And? He isn't the first one we've come in contact with, you know. No need for the vampire buddy system."

"Exactly, he isn't the first one _we've_ come in contact with! We do things together, Leah." Seth's prepubescent voice cracked as he grabbed my shoulders.

I gently pushed him away. "He won't hurt me, Seth."

"How do you know?" Sam asked.

I shrugged. It was a valid point, given the whole "mortal-enemies" thing. I wasn't sure how I knew Edward wouldn't hurt me, but I did. Something about him was different, like I'd said.

Maybe it was his tawny eyes or the softness of his voice or the fact that he looked like a friggin' model in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Either way, I knew he was harmless.

"I just do. I'll let you know how it goes," I said before I quickly slipped out of the little house and into the cool night air. It didn't bother me, though. I was a warm one-oh-eight all the time. I jogged to the edge of the forest and stripped off my clothes, fastening them to my ankle so I wouldn't lose them.

Having nothing to wear got annoying after the first few times of unexpected phasing, so now I was more prepared. Nothing is more embarrassing than showing up to a pack meeting buck naked- especially when your ex-boyfriend and your little brother are part of said pack.

I eased my mind and let a different part of me take over. My body began to vibrate as heat coursed through my veins. My bones and muscles twisted and turned, changing. I tried to cry out, but nothing came, and before I knew it I was flying through the forest on four legs as fast I could go, without any rhyme or reason, with no destination in mind.

I hadn't gotten very far, just out of the La Push lines when I came across a scent that nearly knocked me off my feet.

_Edward. _

His scent was easily recognized, something that bothered me immensely. Vampires were our sworn enemies; nothing about them should have been recognizable.

I could tell he was close by, so I stopped and listened.

"Looking for me?" His voice was quiet behind me.

_You move like the dead_, I thought.

He laughed, voice husky and melodic, the sound of it echoing off the trees. If I were human I would've blushed.

"Is this what you meant when you said I was in danger?" he gestured to my form.

_Yes._

"Interesting," he said as he walked a circle around me. "I like you like this, you know?"

_You're an asshole_.

"Fine, I take it back. You're still mouthy," he said with a frown.

I growled and he held up his hands in defeat.

"I'll stay out of your way, Leah, if you'll stay out of mine."

_We'll see._

"Yes, we will," Edward replied before disappearing into the night. "Lovely seeing you again, Leah."

xXx

**Edward**

"Yes, Alice?" I answered my phone, which had rung incessantly since I left Leah in the woods.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I was hunting," I explained as I climbed the front steps to my temporary home.

"Oh, thank heavens," she muttered. "I was so worried."

"What are you going on about?" I asked, annoyed.

"I lost you, Edward."

"You haven't lost me, I'm right here." I frowned.

"No, Edward. You don't understand. Your future– it disappeared."


	3. Monday

Seven Days – Monday

**"Women are afraid of mice and of murder, and of very little in between." - Mignon McNaughton, _The Second Neurotic's Notebook_**

**Edward **

The sun rose behind me, bouncing in prisms off my skin and drawing the morning to my attention. I'd been sitting in the dining room for most of the night going over the information I'd been acquiring for the better part of a century.

_He_ was out there, and I would find him, even though it probably would be the last thing I did.

My deadline was drawing closer, and my patience was beginning to wear thin.

I heard her before I saw her. "Not again," I muttered, and made my way out the back door to see what she wanted.

"Good morning, Leah. Just can't stay away, can you?" I asked the still trees as my bare feet hit cool solid earth.

"I was sent," she replied, and finally emerged from the forest in front of me, her stance casual. I quickly let my eyes roam over her body. She was in shorts and a tank top even though it was fifty degrees out. Her dark hair was cut short, accentuating high cheek bones and big, bright eyes.

"Sent by whom?" I asked politely before taking a running leap and landing lithely in the tree above her.

"That's not important," Leah muttered and glared up at me. "I need to know what you meant last night."

"About what?" I queried, settling on the branch and letting my feet dangle.

"About people dying if you left."

"Yes," I answered, smirking a little, and dropped soundlessly to the ground in front of her.

Leah stuck her hands on her hips and huffed. "Stop fooling around!" she yelled and shoved me.

"You know, you aren't nearly as scary as you were last night," I told her with a laugh. She glared harder; I laughed louder.

"I meant what I said, Edward. I'm trained to kill you. I've killed your kind before," she explained, her dark eyes hard.

"Oh, I don't doubt that, Leah. I've been here before, many years ago. I'm very familiar with Quileute legends," I said.

"What do you know?" Leah asked warily, her gaze softening and her arms hanging loosely at her side.

"I know that you only shift when my kind are around. But you've obviously been shifting a while, so there have been plenty of vampires in the area within the last few years. Am I right?"

"Nearly half of the boys in La Push have phased," she murmured and looked away.

"And the girls?"

"I'm the only one," Leah whispered, lost in thought. I only caught faces and names, nothing solid to go on, but enough to know that it was tough on her.

"Would you like to come inside?" I asked quietly. Leah's eyes snapped to mine, narrowed and suspicious. "It'll be easier to explain what I'm doing here if I can show you."

"Fine." She nodded and quietly followed me, her sneaker-clad feet almost as quiet as mine.

I led her inside and to the dining room, hearing her slight gasp at the mess I'd created.

"Are you some sort of serial killer?" She eyed me cautiously and I resisted the maniacal laugh that was threatening to come out.

"I don't think you really want me to answer that, do you?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure you know what I'm thinking, and no. I just want to make sure you aren't going to cause problems for my family," she said, taking a step closer to the wall that was plastered with newspaper clippings I'd collected over the years.

She touched them softly, her lips moving as she read silently, and then turned to me.

"What are you, some weird vampire version of Dexter?" Leah asked and stepped away from the wall. Her eyes raked over the map on the table, the laptop I'd been searching on, and the clippings that had been scattered throughout the room.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," I said, gathering up some of the mess I'd made on the floor: a bunch of dead-end articles that didn't help me in my search.

"Dexter is this cop, but he's also a serial killer. He only kills bad guys though," she explained with a shrug.

"Oh." I thought about it. "Kind of, I guess."

"Do you kill vampires?" she asked with her eyes trained on me.

I glanced at my feet and gave a sigh that my body didn't really need. "Leah, what you have to understand is…"

"Edward, do you really think I care if you kill vampires? As long as you don't eat people, I don't care what you do." She snorted lightly and I felt my lips tugging into a smile.

"How do you know I don't eat people?" I asked.

"Your eyes. They're different than others we've hunted. I've heard stories…"

"Right. The stories, when we first came here in the thirties-"

"When _you_ came here in the thirties?" she cried.

"Yes." I nodded and gestured for her to sit down. She did so with an awed look on her face.

"Did you come here with your coven?" Leah asked, seemingly genuinely interested.

"We prefer… family," I explained. She rolled the thought around in her head for a moment before turning her attention back to me. "Most vampires have trouble staying together for as long as we've been. That's why the ones you come in contact with are usually alone or in pairs. I most likely met your ancestors. We created a treaty with them, that's why my family kept this house here."

"Where's your family now?" She seemed concerned, so I told her.

"In Alaska. There are others like us up there."

"Is this why you aren't with them? Why you say you have to stay here?" Leah gestured to the room and I nodded.

"I've been looking for someone for a long time," I said, touching the edge of the table gently.

"How long?" she asked.

"About ninety years," I answered with a smile.

She narrowed her eyes, her mind surprisingly blank. She really was very good at that. I'd have to ask her why and how she blocked herself. "How old are you?"

"Physically? Seventeen."

"Well, it seems you skipped that awkward, ugly stage all teenagers go through," she muttered and then covered her mouth like she'd said something wrong.

_You're such an idiot! He's going to think you have the hots for him! _

I chuckled_. _"I don't think that, actually. I'm sure I'm repulsive to you," I teased.

"So this guy you're looking for, you think he's here?" Leah changed the subject quickly. She got up and paced the length of the room, her eyes roaming over the articles again.

"My sister, Alice, had a vision of me here." I watched her again, enthralled by her interest in the different stories I'd posted.

"Vision?" she asked absentmindedly.

"She sees the future," I explained.

"You read minds, she sees the future. Anyone else got any superpowers?" Leah joked.

"Her husband, Jasper, can feel and control people's emotions," I said with a shrug.

"Huh. The leech you're hunting, he's not picky, is he?" she asked, pointing to an article about a murdered young girl.

"No. No he isn't," I said quietly, forcing my mind to stay in the present and not slip back to a darker time.

"Did you know him? Before you started hunting him, I mean?" She turned to me, curious.

"No."

"You're looking for him, but you kill others…why?"

"I know what I am, Leah. But my family and I try very hard to control ourselves. We value human life. That's why I do what I do. This one that I'm looking for... he was the first I ever saw kill a human. But he fled before I could kill him," I told her, which was partly the truth. "I look for him, but if I find others along the way well... let's just say I don't get bored."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"Of what?" I asked, trying my best to be nonchalant.

"That others are going to find out what you're doing and try to stop you?"

_Fucking hell._ She was smart.

"No, I'm not afraid," I lied. Well, I didn't have to be afraid of getting caught anymore.

"I should get back and tell– tell them what you've told me," Leah said as she crossed the room to the door.

"Will you be back to tuck me in tonight?" I asked, following her out of the door.

"If you're lucky," she replied with a wink, before taking off at a sprint. I watched her run through the forest until she disappeared, then I hauled myself back inside. I had work to do, after all.

xXx

**Leah**

"He's looking for a vampire," I told Sam once I made it back to La Push.

"Well, all he has to do is look in the mirror," Paul said, then guffawed at his own joke.

"You're an idiot."

Paul grinned. "You're right. He probably doesn't have a reflection." I threw a muffin at his head.

"I say we wait for him to kill the first one, and then we kill him," Jared threw out from across the kitchen.

I turned on him, livid. "No! He hasn't _done_ anything!" I yelled.

"He's a vamp, Leah. They're our _mortal enemy_, or have you forgotten that?" Jared frowned, and Paul laughed again. I seriously hated being outnumbered by idiots.

"Have you forgotten that we're here to protect people? Edward hasn't hurt anyone," I argued.

"Oh my God, you gave it a name?" Paul cried. I blushed and turned away, wishing I could crawl into a hole.

"That's enough." Sam's voice was low, but commanding. Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum stopped laughing immediately. "Leah says he's not dangerous, so we leave him be."

"He's been here before," I said quietly. All eyes turned to me. "He said something about a treaty…with my ancestors."

Sam watched me for a moment, and I tried not to fidget under his gaze. A few months ago those dark eyes had made my insides flip-flop, but now… now things were different.

"Treaty?" Sam asked, and I nodded. He was silent for a long moment before he turned back to Jared and Paul. "He's off limits, got it?"

"Fine," they chorused before stalking out of the kitchen.

"I'm trusting you on this, Leah," Sam said once they'd left.

I nodded and followed the guys out, hoping that I wasn't wrong about the situation or about Edward. Something about him was different. It went above and beyond the whole "vampire versus werewolf" bullshit that I'd lived for so long.

xXx

"_Edward, my father is waiting up for me. I should go now," she said quietly. I nodded and took her hand in mine. _

"_I'll be thinking of you," I told her, lifting her hand up and kissing it softly. _

"_You're such a romantic. I'll see you tomorrow, silly boy." Katherine blushed and pulled her hand away._

_I watched her walk up the front steps of her house and smiled. We'd only been seeing each other for a few weeks, but I knew it was the start of something good. Katherine was someone I could see myself settling down and raising a family with. _

_I took a deep breath as I reached my own house, feeling a little under the weather and hoping a good night's sleep was all I needed. There'd been rumors floating around about an outbreak – a sickness that was claiming lives. My family had been fortunate so far, but none of us knew what was to come... _

"I'm going to find you," I muttered to myself and closed my laptop. "Even if it's the last thing I do." Ha. Given my conversation with Aro two days ago, it looked like it _would_ be the last thing I did.

I gave a quick glance out the back door, surreptitiously checking to see if Leah had come back. She hadn't, but part of me hoped she would.

Shaking my head, I climbed the stairs to my bedroom and stripped off my clothes. I fell into the bed, wishing I could sleep. Wishing I could have some sort of break from it all, from the unrelenting awareness of everything, even just for a few hours. Even when things were perfectly calm, I'd always been hyper-observant. Now, with my seemingly dwindling lifespan weighing on my mind as it was, I was so keyed up I could practically feel the earth turning.

The pictures across the room caught my eye, so I lifted myself from the bed (which held no comfort for me anyways) and made my way across the room. I lifted one of the silver frames, and my family's faces smiled up at me from a college football game that Emmett had dragged us to. There were others of us, and some from my human life, some things that Carlisle had saved for me.

Katherine's pretty face smiled up at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. A lifetime ago that smile had made my heart do back-flips. I was a seventeen-year-old boy head over heels in love with a beautiful, smart girl who felt the same.

Then my father died.

And my mother got sick.

And I... well, no need to say what had happened to _me_.

After Carlisle changed me, I didn't see Katherine for many years. When I finally did get back to Chicago, she'd married someone and started a family.

And I'd watched it all get ripped away.

I'd watched the life leave her eyes and done nothing as he drained her, too shocked to move or to help her, though part of me knew I was too late anyways. It wast the first time of my existence I saw another vampire kill a human. I was disgusted, appalled, and afraid.

The frame cracked in my hands as the memory flooded my mind: sobbing without tears, her head lolling back against my shoulder as I'd rocked her lifeless body in my arms.

I gasped for breath and dropped the picture, rubbing a hand over my face and falling back to the bed again, wishing again that a few hours of sleep would help suppress over ninety years' worth of memories.


	4. Tuesday

Seven Days – Tuesday

**Leah **

By the time the sun came up, I was finally dragging myself in the front door of the little house I lived in with my mother and Seth. Mom looked up from her newspaper and I gave her a quick nod before making my way to my bedroom and collapsing onto my bed. I'd been running around with Jared all night trying to keep the perimeter safe. Sam was convinced there were more vamps coming to look for the one that we'd killed the week before.

He wasn't the first one I'd seen, but he'd been the strongest. He was tall and muscular with a strange accent. His bright red eyes let us know that our fears had come true: he'd killed a human. We later found out it was the young librarian from the library in Forks.

The vampire had made threats. He said there'd be others coming, that they traveled together. Then we ripped his head off and lit him up. Everyone had gone to the beach to celebrate after that, and I went home alone.

Like always.

"I'm going to work, honey," Mom called through my door. I uttered a muffled goodbye and closed my eyes, trying to find sleep.

I hadn't been getting much of it lately. And now, with Edward lurking around doing his vampire-desperado thing and the entire pack on high alert, it didn't seem like I would be catching up on it any time soon.

"Leah?"

"What?" I yelled as my brother peeked into my bedroom.

"Um…" Seth trailed off.

"Spit it out, kid!"

"Oh, Mom just wanted me to check on you and make sure you ate something before you went to sleep. I, um, put some pancakes in the fridge for you."

My heart squeezed at his clumsy kindness. My poor little brother. He tried to take care of our family in whatever way he could. "Later," I grumbled and turned away from him, "but thank you," ultimately ending our conversation. My bedroom door closed, then the front door, and I was alone again.

When I finally fell asleep it was plagued with nightmares. Or, more specifically, nightmares about Edward.

Edward surrounded by the pack about to die.

Edward standing over Jess' dead body in the empty diner.

Edward with blood red eyes.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes before glancing at the clock. I had only been asleep for an hour, but was suddenly wide awake.

I needed to see Edward.

**Edward**

"Alice, I really need you to calm down," I sighed and ran a hand over my face. She'd been calling nonstop since I'd been in Forks. It was quite annoying.

"I just worry about you, Edward," she replied, then gasped. "Wait! Are you there?"

"Yes?" I asked, confused.

"It's so weird, Edward. You disappeared again," Alice explained.

I frowned and glanced around, once again hearing Leah before I saw her. She was just off the back steps, closer than she had come before.

_I need to talk to you._

"I think I've just discovered why," I muttered and hung up abruptly. "Good morning, starshine," I greeted Leah with a grin. "The world says hello."

If looks could kill, I'd be a pile of dust. Leah looked as if anger, exhaustion, worry, and sheer orneriness were fighting for control of her features before she clipped out a "Hi."

"What can I help you with?" I inquired politely, wondering why I wasn't just dipping into her head to find out as I would've with anyone else. Something besides her prickly nature made me refrain. Maybe it was the feeling that she already had enough people listening in on her already.

"I was just wondering if you… needed any help. You know, tracking your vamp," she asked half-heartedly and shuffled her feet.

"Well, technically he's not _mine_," I told her. Leah frowned and bounded up the steps. "And I'm not really sure how you can help."

I turned away and made my way back inside. She followed.

"You aren't afraid of much, are you?" I asked when she closed the door behind her.

_Definitely not afraid of you, leech. _

"Not very polite either," I muttered, and stalked upstairs.

Leah laughed from a few steps behind. "You know what they say about eavesdroppers."

"It isn't something I can actually help, you know."

"Really?"

"Well, if I try hard enough I can, but most of the time it's useful." I shrugged and stepped into my bedroom. Leah froze in the doorway.

I turned to her, grinning. "You can come in. I won't bite."

She rolled her eyes. "Funny."

"I mean it, Leah. You don't smell like other humans." I turned away from her and began rifling through a stack of journals I'd kept over the years until I found the one I was looking for.

"Boy, you sure know how to flatter a girl, Edward," she said dryly. I chuckled and sat down, flipping through the pages of the book I'd picked up.

"Sorry."

"Hmm," she hummed and picked up one of the frames I'd been looking at the night before.

"What's that?" I asked.

"I didn't know vampires showed up in photos," Leah replied.

"Oh, yes. I have a reflection, too."

"Clearly," she said. _You always look picture perfect._

I pretended not to hear _that_ particular thought and moved quickly before she could find the rest of the pictures. The ones of Katherine that I'd kept for so long. I stood and gestured for her to follow me downstairs.

"So, you want to help?"

"If I can, yeah." Leah shrugged.

"Why would you want to help me?"

"You're going to save a life, right? That's what I'm here for, too," she explained.

"Is it tough? To not have a choice?" I asked quietly as we made our way back to the dining room. I turned to Leah and watched her face harden, as if she thought I expected her to have some "sunshine and rainbows" answer.

"I do what I have to do," she muttered and pushed past me. "So, what are we looking for?"

"Well, you were right last night: he doesn't have a type. Race, religion, age – none of that matters to him. It's always a woman, though. He finds them alone, drains them and leaves them. Nothing more, nothing less."

Leah watched me for a long moment before speaking. "If you know so much about him, why haven't you found him yet?"

"I have been looking for him for a long time…but I've also been finding others. _Killing_ others."

"When you find others, do you do it…in time?" she whispered the last part.

"What do you mean?" I asked, though her mind told me all I needed to know. Flashes of nameless faces moved through her mind at an alarmingly fast rate.

"You know…"

"Sometimes." I nodded and tossed the journal down on the table. Loose bits of paper fluttered around it.

"And if you don't make it? What happens then?" I met her eyes once more, her irises almost the same shade of ebony as her hair. They were full of something I hadn't seen in so long: humanity. It was the need for reassurance that the women I'd found didn't suffer, that they didn't die in vain.

I couldn't give that to her.

I smiled sadly. "You don't want to know."

She turned away. "We've been casing the perimeter, but we haven't found anything." Leah changed the subject abruptly and I was grateful; I didn't want to have to introduce that kind of pain to her. I was sure she'd seen enough already.

"It will be soon, and probably won't be in the immediate area. He prefers cities, so your Alpha may want to try Port Angeles, too."

"Oh, yes. I can see it now. Six giant wolves trolling the quiet streets of P.A.," Leah said with a delicate snort. I tried not to roll my eyes.

"You know what I mean."

"I'll let him know." She gave a nod of finality and squared her shoulders before turning back to me.

"I'll see you there, then?"

"Maybe." Leah winked before slipping out of my house and quickly making her way into the woods. I couldn't help but watch and admire the soft curves of her body as she walked away.

She was beautiful, that was a given. Leah was different than the women I usually kept company with. Well, not that I actually had a lot of time to pursue a relationship, or that I even wanted one. Pursuing a deadly vampire murderer kind of put a damper on that. Besides, most times I was content with the friendships and familial bonds that had been created with Alice, Esme, and even Rosalie.

But Leah… being around her the past couple of days made me feel lighter, freer. She was easy to be around, and she didn't ask or expect any more than I could offer. She certainly didn't try to change my mind about what I was doing. Maybe it took a killer to understand one.

It was strange, and I wasn't quite sure if I liked it.

**Leah**

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Seth eyed me as I quickly packed my duffle bag, throwing in a pair of jeans and some clean tank tops.

"I'll be fine, kid," I told him before leaving him standing alone in my bedroom. He followed anxiously at my heels until we were both at the door.

"But Leah, I –"

"Seth! It's fine. Jared will be there. The rest of the pack is just a call away," I explained as I threw my bag in the back of Jared's truck. I wasn't too excited about going with Jared, but Sam's word was the law and he'd decided to send the two of us, end of story.

"But what if it's not fine?" His voice was quiet, and I softened a bit. I pulled my kid brother into a hug and kissed the top of his messy head. The way he was growing it wouldn't be long before he was the one bending down to kiss me.

"It will be. Trust me," I said before releasing him and climbing into Jared's truck.

I didn't want to tell my brother the reason I thought it would all be okay was because I trusted Edward. Truth was, I was still trying to figure out _why_ I trusted Edward.

"You okay?" Jared's voice broke through my thoughts as we got on the highway.

"Fine."

"Nervous?" he asked.

"No. You?" I countered.

"A bit," Jared said with a small shrug.

"Why?"

"I don't know… we've never done anything like this," he explained.

"Like what?"

"On our own, you know?" I nodded and looked out the window.

_We've never put our trust in a vampire either,_ I thought.

"And with the help of a vamp, no less," Jared added.

"Sam seems okay with it," I replied, trying to be nonchalant, though my insides were screaming at me. I was the one who told Sam that Edward was trustworthy. If this went up in flames, it would all be my fault.

"He trusts you."

"Edward or Sam?" I asked, giving him a sideways glance.

"Both," he said. I rolled his words around in my head for the remainder of the drive, too wrapped up in my own thoughts to bother with conversation. Besides, we weren't there to bond. We were there to work.

xXx

Later that night, while we were sitting around Jared's girlfriend Kim's apartment, Edward sent me a text to let me know where he was.

"It's weird, right? A vampire texting?" Kim asked, sipping the cheap beer in her hand. "Shouldn't he be like, writing letters in calligraphy or something?" she asked, giggling.

I watched Jared resist rolling his eyes and I shook my own head.

"You watch too many Brad Pitt movies," Jared teased her. She made a face then stood up, stretching like a cat, before traipsing off to the kitchen.

"He's at The Flying Monkey, he said his sister saw him there."

"_Saw_ him saw him?" Jared's eyebrows threatened to disappear into his hair and I nodded. "Crazy stuff. I don't know if I'd want to be able to see my future. Or have anyone else be able to see it either."

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing.

"Did I miss the joke?" Jared asked with a hint of a smile.

"Are you kidding me? Your entire life has been planned already!"

"What? No it hasn't," he argued and cast a glance toward the kitchen.

"Seriously, J? You didn't even get to pick who you fell in love with! And me? I won't ever get that. The only person I ever loved fell in love with my cousin, like some huge cosmic joke. And when I complain all I get is the _imprinting_ bullshit that everyone _else_ gets to experience."

"You'll get it, Leah. One day."

"I don't want it! I want to be able to _choose._" I stood up, my hands clenched into fists at my side. "And besides, I've got nothing to offer anyone," I said with a quiet sob before excusing myself.

I slammed the bathroom door behind me and leaned against the counter, embarrassed. I hadn't meant to yell at Jared, he was just trying to help. But I was telling the truth. I didn't want to imprint, to feel like I didn't have a choice in who I loved. Of course, I couldn't really fault any of the others for imprinting. It wasn't up to them. It was in their blood, our blood. Maybe.

A few moments later, my phone vibrated in my pocket with another message from Edward.

_I can do this alone if I have to. _

I frowned. He wouldn't have to do it alone.

"Are you ready?" Jared was already at the door helping Kim into her jacket.

"She can't go with us! It's too dangerous!" I cried with my hands on my hips.

Kim scoffed, glaring at me and Jared shrugged. I pushed past them and out the door, not interested in protecting _both _of them.

"Leah! Wait!"

"Jared, if I have to go alone I will." I spun around and met his worried eyes. It occurred to me that I sounded exactly like Edward, but I tried not to think about how alike we were.

"I told Sam we'd do this together." He frowned.

"Look, you're going to be worried about Kim and that'll make you distracted. I can't have that. We'll all suffer."

He thought for a moment, his eyes darting between Kim and me. "You'll call me if anything goes wrong?"

"Of course," I agreed before turning on my heels and heading down the street to The Flying Monkey, feeling very much like Dorothy minus the shiny red shoes.

**Edward**

The music pulsed around me, but it wasn't as loud as the heartbeats I could hear or their thoughts that screamed at me.

Sex, drugs, alcohol. It was ingrained in their minds, written on their faces, and flowing from their pores. And it had been far too long since I'd hunted. _Bad move, that, Edward. _Venom filled my mouth and I steeled myself against the counter, my fingers leaving an imprint on the Formica. And then I heard her, loud and clear, like a lighthouse waiting for a lost ship.

_Where the fuck are you?_

I laughed and made my way through the crowd to find her, but stopped suddenly.

He was there. His scent bombarded me, bringing back the memories that I'd suppressed for almost a hundred years. I wanted to fall the ground and surrender to them, so vivid behind my eyes, but I didn't.

Because _she _was there, too.

"You okay?" Leah's was at my side quickly, her voice was calm but laced with worry.

"Fine." I gave her a swift nod and pulled myself together. "He's here."

She scanned the crowd, her nostrils flared.

"Does he know we're here?"

"He knows _someone_ else is here. He's very focused though," I told her as I tried to listen to the hunter's thoughts. Like I had told her, he was focused. I hadn't mentioned that he was focused on a tiny brunette hovering in the corner by herself. I didn't think she really needed to know _everything_.

"What do we do?"

"Just… act natural." I shrugged. "We could dance?"

"My natural instinct is to kill you, Edward. Not dance with you," Leah said with a polite snort. I grinned and looked around, though no one seemed to be paying much attention to us, then settled my eyes back on Leah. Her body swayed to the music and I let my eyes travel down her frame, appraising her appearance silently. Dressed in a tight black tank top and jeans, her short hair fell sleekly just below her chin. Leah didn't seem to be wearing makeup, but it also didn't seem like she needed it. She was slim and toned, the body of a warrior, of a girl who had seen and dealt with too much.

She was beautiful.

Carefully, I slipped my arm around her waist and pulled her against my body, jumping a little at her inhuman heat. Leah fought me for a moment- I could hear a fleeting thought about _cold _running through her head- then she relaxed and wrapped her arms around my neck, avoiding my gaze. The music wasn't really music, just thumping bass and melody, but our bodies moved like everyone else's: slow and close.

"Can you still hear him?" she whispered, knowing I could hear her.

I nodded. "He's thinking. He doesn't want to draw attention to himself," I explained, my eyes scanning the crowd. "But he's getting impatient."

Leah swore under her breath and pulled herself tighter against me. I tried not to smile.

"You're very warm," I stated.

Leah looked up at me with curious eyes. "A constant one-oh-eight," she muttered.

"Hm," was all I said. Leah shook her head, but I could see the hint of a smile on her face, her mind blank again. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" she asked with innocent doe-eyes.

"You know what I mean." I frowned.

"In the pack… there are no secrets. I learned quickly how to turn it off. It's easier that way," she said, letting her arms fall from around me and stepping away. "I need a drink."

I watched her walk to the bar and listened to her order as I rolled her words over in my head, wondering what she needed to turn off.

Checking my watch, I realized it was after midnight, and just as she received her order, I saw him: a tall, slim blond with a small brunette girl hanging onto his arm. She was laughing, her head thrown back in amusement, but his smile was deadly.

I pushed through the crowd and took Leah by the elbow, leading her away from the bar.

"Hey! That beer cost me ten dollars!" she yelled as I pulled her away.

"I'll compensate you. We need to move. Now."

Leah's eyes widened and she nodded, following me to a door that led to the stairwell.

"Where do you suppose this goes?" she asked as we climbed at a less than human pace.

"The roof," I replied, then threw open the door.

I was right. We were on the roof, but the hunter was nowhere in sight.

"Well, fuck," Leah muttered disgustedly, "are you gonna tell me this asshole can _fly?"_


	5. Wednesday

Seven Days - Wednesday

**Leah**

"Stay here," Edward commanded in a whisper as he stepped away from me.

Ugh. As if I actually _would_, the high-handed bastard. I hadn't invited myself along to stay back and play lookout.

"Leah." He held out his arm as if to block me. I could feel the anger sparking off him. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"Occupational hazard," I told him flippantly, daring him to tell me to stay put. "Put down the martyr's palm and let me _help_, Edward- I'm pretty durable in a fight."

He glared for a moment, then dropped his arm and starting walking again. "Fine. On your own head, then."

I couldn't contain the snort. "Oh, please. You're way too type-A to let a helpless little girl take responsibility for herself."

Edward whirled and stopped so abruptly that even with my wolfy reflexes I bumped smack into him. His eyes were livid with anger. "In case you've forgotten, Leah," he ground out between clenched teeth, "against him, hundreds of girls _couldn't_ take care of themselves. And neither can this one. Pardon me for caring." Turning on his heel, he stalked off without waiting for an answer from me.

Well, crap. _Nice one, Leah. Way to forget the selfless mission dude is on_. Yeah, I was an insensitive bitch. Blowing out a sigh, I jogged to catch up.

It didn't take us long to find them, all we had to do was follow his scent…and the scent of blood. A lot of blood.

I saw the vampire crouched over her body just beside the ledge. Her hands were limp at her sides and her eyes stared without really seeing.

We were too late.

"Don't move," Edward whispered.

This time I listened. I couldn't find it in me to move anyways. I'd seen vampires. I'd _killed_ vampires. But I'd never seen one kill…and I'd never seen a dead human. That made a difference. The smell of her blood nauseated me. It felt like her eyes were watching me, pleading with me to save her. But I couldn't.

The vampire stopped feeding from the girl as Edward stepped forward. His body moved so quickly his hands were around Edward's throat before I could blink. My little gasp of surprise didn't go unnoticed by either one of them.

"I knew you'd come for me." His voice was raspy and dripping with malice, his red eyes predatory as they flashed from me to Edward. I watched Edward's hand reach up almost casually and, with one swift movement, push the other vampire away. He went flying into the brick wall and Edward adjusted his shirt in a cocky, nonchalant sort of way before ambling over to him.

"I've been following you for a long time, James," he said quietly as James lifted himself to his feet.

"Caught your eye, did I? I apologize. I shouldn't have kept you waiting." James said with a teasing smile. Edward's jaw tightened. I clenched my hands into fists, feeling my nails digging into my palms. James wasn't nearly as tall as Edward, but he was broader, stockier, a bull to Edward's big cat. I was nervous.

Of course, I shouldn't have been. Edward was quick and, as it turned out, very strong. As I wondered what would happen he was already in motion, so fast he was naught but a blur of pale skin and fabric. I couldn't figure out where to watch. I knew I should have probably moved before something happened, but I couldn't, superhuman reflexes or not. My terror had frozen me in place just a few feet away from the dead girl.

I heard the concrete under my feet crack, and I peeled my eyes from the girl's staring eyes. James was on the ground with Edward's slim form towering over him. "I should make you beg for your life like you made them do. I should tear you limb from limb– make you suffer as much as they did." Edward's voice was a low whisper, but I could hear him as clear as day. It sent a shiver through my body and made my blood run cold.

The look in Edward's eyes was deadly, their soft gold almost black, like empty pits in his preternaturally handsome face. It frightened me even more than James' red ones. It frightened me because this was the first time I'd seen him look like what he really was: a predator, one as deadly as he was beautiful.

"Do it then," James whispered tauntingly, blood-tinged mucus bubbling between his lips as he laughed. "I deserve it, don't I? I killed them, I drained them and watched their life leave–"

James didn't quite finish his last sentence because Edward bent down, quickly, efficiently, and ripped off his head first.

I didn't realize I'd been holding my breath until I exhaled. Then I fell to the ground. My hands were on the concrete and my heart was in my throat. I was vaguely aware of Edward moving around me, of the all-too-familiar smell of a burning vampire, and then of his voice in my ear.

"We have to move quickly. Do you need help?" he asked, holding his hand out.

I recoiled from him before I could stop myself and lurched to my feet, avoiding his eyes the whole time.

"I'm fine," I mumbled as I brushed my hands off and cast a last glance at the lifeless form next to a smoldering pile of ashes.

"It's better if you don't look," Edward said softly.

I turned away from her and met his eyes for the first time since he'd stormed off a few minutes ago. The black was gone now; his eyes were gold again, but tinged with resignation: he'd noticed me flinching. I nodded and followed him back down into the bar. We slipped back through the crowd unnoticed until we were standing out on the sidewalk.

"What are you going to do about the– about the girl?" I asked, grabbing Edward's arm to stop him from walking away.

"I'll call the cops, but I need to get you somewhere safe first," he said as he pulled himself away from my grasp.

"You killed him. There's no danger. And besides, I'm not a kid," I huffed.

"I didn't mean from him, Leah…I meant from me." Edward turned away again and began walking quickly, almost too quickly to be a human pace, up the deserted street.

I started to follow, but then decided against it. Kim's apartment was in the opposite direction, and if Edward wanted to treat me like a kid…well, I wasn't going to put up with _that_.

"Where are you going?" Edward called, not even five seconds after I'd turned around.

"I'm not your property to worry about," I yelled back.

"Leah!" His footsteps were close behind until I felt him next to me.

"You've done what you came to do, Edward. Now we can go our separate ways," I said, turning away quickly. Edward recoiled as if I'd slapped him and his eyes widened. It took me a moment to realize why.

The images in my head at the moment were not pleasant: the dead girl, James being ripped apart, Edward's black eyes as he watched the fire burn.

"I'm sorry," he choked out before turning on his heel. I watched him retreat with slumped shoulders, rather like a defeated guardian angel than a hero.

xXx

**Edward **

I made it back to the house quickly after leaving Leah in front of the club. I ran, choosing to leave the car behind, though I was distracted the entire time. The thoughts she threw at me had been too vivid and real. I could hear her while I dismembered James- she was terrified.

She was terrified of _me_.

I wanted her to let me take her somewhere safe, to take her somewhere away from _me_.

When I reached the house, the feeling was anticlimactic. I'd been searching for James for almost my entire unnatural existence, and now that he was dead I found myself feeling…empty.

The articles seemed to mock me as they fluttered in the breeze from the open back door. I pulled them all off the wall and set them in a neat stack on the table along with the maps and my journals. My phone rang, but I didn't need to look to know it was Alice. Leah was away, so she could see me now. She knew that I'd finally done what I'd set out to do so many years ago.

I didn't answer it. I couldn't just yet. Part of me was still in shock that I'd actually _done_ it. I'd killed the vampire who had taken something precious from me. He took the only girl I'd ever loved. He drained her and left her to die and then did the same with hundreds, maybe even thousands more. Killing James was more of a personal victory than it had been with the others. With them it was about saving people…with James it had been about revenge.

But now I'd had my revenge, and I felt nothing.

Wait. That wasn't completely true.

I was frustrated and angry. Over eighty-years spent chasing revenge, and now I had nothing. Nothing to live for and nothing to find. That was all fine, though, considering I myself was due to be ripped apart and burned to ash very soon, if I didn't do as Aro asked.

After staring at the pile of papers and contemplating my demise for a while, I finally shoved myself away from the table. I found myself in my bedroom with Katherine's picture in my hands again. Her pretty smile and bright eyes looked out at me, ripe with hope and promise. She'd had so much life in her, even at seventeen. Our future had stretched in front of us like an ocean, vast and wide with endless possibilities.

And then I'd let her die.

I sighed and sat down on the old chaise lounge before turning to the door. She may have moved like a ghost, but, hey, there were two of us here with superhuman hearing, after all.

"I'm glad you made it home safely," I said softly.

Leah nodded from her spot in the doorway and then looked at her feet.

"I wasn't afraid of you," she muttered.

"Your thoughts begged to differ, Leah." I gave her a small, tight smile and waved her in.

She came slowly and joined me, folding herself cross-legged at the opposite end of the chaise longue. I took in her bare feet and the pretty color of the skin of her long legs. She wore battered cut-off jean shorts and a tank top, much like she had the first time she'd shown up at the house.

"Fine, I was a little afraid," she admitted quietly.

"I'm sorry I frightened you," I told her.

Leah finally looked at me then, her dark brown eyes searching mine for a long time, looking for a hint of the monster within. Her mind was blank, however.

"It's fine." She shrugged and picked at a fraying edge of her shorts. "Do you think there are others like him?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, glancing down at Katherine's picture still in my hands.

"Are there others as dangerous as him? As James?"

"Probably." A beat. "You knew that already, though."

"Are you going to go after them? Like you did the others?" she asked with a certain hope in her voice. Like she wanted to make sure I was going to finish saving the world. Like she wanted to help me save it. Like she might even have believed in me.

I shook my head and stood up. "No." I set Katherine's picture back on the shelf and turned away from her pleading eyes.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" She shot up and tugged on my sleeve.

"I can't, Leah. You wouldn't understand." I pulled myself away from her and headed downstairs.

"Like hell I wouldn't understand!" Leah practically yelled as she followed me.

"You're naive, Leah. You don't get it." I spun around, stopping her in her tracks and ultimately ending the conversation.

"You're right," she said coldly. She pushed past me with a glare and then didn't look back as she walked out the back door.

_Fuck you._ Her thoughts were plenty clear that time.

I groaned and ran out the door after her, not even knowing why I was doing it. For some reason beyond my control I didn't want her to be angry with me. A dying man's last wish, maybe: I needed her to know that stopping now wasn't my call. I needed her to know it was out of my hands. _Ego te absolvo, _and all that.

"Wait!" I called. Leah turned around to glare at me _again_ before taking a running leap over the river. She landed on her feet and took off running. I caught up with her quickly, grabbing her by the elbow and turning her to face me.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled, pushing me away.

"I'm sorry about what I said," I told her.

Leah narrowed her eyes at me and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You think I don't understand, Edward? You're right. I don't understand how you could just _stop_ saving people. You have a choice and you're making the wrong one."

"You don't know anything about my choices," I said through my clenched teeth.

"At least you have a choice," she whispered. Then she opened her mind- I mean _really _opened it. Her thoughts and the images she created flooded my head like a movie reel and I gasped.

_There was a boy and a girl, smiling and kissing. _

_Then a crying girl, her mother comforting her. _

_A wedding and the same girl, standing alone with her feet in the ocean while tears stained her lovely cheeks._

_A funeral. Tears again. A headstone wreathed in white roses._

_A gray wolf. _

The images kept coming along with the feelings they invoked: pain, sadness, disappointment, anger…so much anger. Compared to the slow-growing smolder of my anger, cultivated for decades, Leah's rage was volcanic, consuming in its immediacy.

And I wanted to burn.

"Stop," I pled finally; my hands were wet, for a reason I couldn't understand, until I realized that her memories had quite literally forced me to my knees.

"Don't tell me I don't understand," she said quietly.

"Leah…" I stood and stepped toward her with my hand outstretched. I knew she didn't want my comfort. In fact, I was almost positive Leah didn't want anyone's comfort.

She let me take her hand, though, and pull her closer to me.

"I don't have a choice, Edward. But if I did I'd still choose to save people. Always," she explained.

I nodded and focused my eyes on hers. They were sad, but dry, and the dark color of them reflected the rising sun. Something about them drew me in, made me want to touch her, to feel her beneath my fingertips like at the club.

Cautiously, I raised my hand and brushed her short hair from her face. Her eyes went wide as I touched her skin and I could hear her pulse pick up, loud as a river in flood. The blood rose in her cheeks, honey tinged with wine, making her look even more beautiful.

She sighed quietly as my fingertips brushed over her cheekbones and under her chin, tipping her face up to mine. I didn't even notice that our bodies had moved across the forest floor until there was nowhere else to go; I'd unknowingly backed her up against a tree. Leah gasped slightly when my body pressed against hers. The heat of her body seemed to radiate through my cold skin, blanketing me like direct sunlight.

My eyes traveled down and focused on her mouth. Before I could do anything she moved. It was quick, inhuman. Her arms were around my neck and her lips were pressed to mine in less than a second.

It was like worlds colliding. I could feel the earth trembling beneath our feet but as her body curved against mine nothing else seemed to matter. My hands slid from her face as I pulled back. Her eyes were wide with astonishment as they focused on my mouth again.

"You taste sweet," Leah said through heavy breaths. I smiled and left a teasing kiss on the corner of her mouth as my hands slipped under her t-shirt. I moved slowly so as not to rip the flimsy material, but I wanted nothing more than to see her. She let me remove her shirt, revealing bare skin, and pulled me closer. I braced my hands behind her, trying to keep myself from touching her though that's all I could think about.

"Please," she whispered and touched my face softly. I let my hands fall from the broad oak to her warm skin, the imprint of my palms evident in the bark. I watched her face as my fingers met her skin again. They moved over her collarbone and rested over her pounding heart. That was the main way Leah was different than the other women I'd encountered in my years. She was alive. Blood pumped through her veins, calling to me. It flooded her skin when I touched her. It let me know that I was doing something right with her.

My hands ran over the swell of her breasts and she arched against me with a soft moan. I smiled and bent toward her, letting my nose skim the side of her face. Her smell was different than a human. Underneath the woodsy, musky scent was something so distinct to Leah. It was sweet but spicy, like cinnamon. Carefully, I let my tongue trace her skin just under her ear.

"You taste sweet, too," I said with my lips to her ear. Leah froze at the contact; I pulled back and, for the first time since we'd kissed, her eyes showed something besides a desperate want and need.

She was afraid.

"I won't hurt you," I whispered, cupping her face gently. She nodded, running her hands down my chest and yanking my shirt over my head, tugging me closer until her overheated skin met mine. Then she kissed me hard with her hands tugging at my hair. My breath left me at the force of it, and I was vaguely aware of the sound of fabric ripping.

"Those were my favorite," Leah said with a little smirk. I looked down to see the remnants of her denim shorts in my hands.

"Whoops." I grinned and let my eyes sweep over her body, drinking her in like a drowning man gasping for air. "Beautiful," I murmured, capturing her mouth with my own again and letting my hand travel down her stomach. Sharp nails scored half-moons into my shoulders when I slipped two fingers inside her, gasping aloud at the slick heat. Leah whimpered against my lips before pushing me away just far enough to yank down my pants. I grabbed her hips, bracing her against the tree where we'd taken refuge, and pressed my forehead to hers.

Leah sensed my hesitation and was quick to frame my face and kiss me gently. I pulled away from her kiss and watched her face as I pushed inside. I watched the surprise fill her eyes at our joining, the temperature change clearly something we'd never experienced before. Her eyes fluttered closed and her head fell back, exposing her slender neck. I could see her pulse moving beneath the thin layer of skin and I pressed my lips to it. She shuddered and tightened her legs around my waist, her hips moving against mine.

I thrust harder, pinning her between my body and the tree. She cried out loudly and her hands tugged at my hair again.

"I'm sorry," I muttered as I pulled back, afraid that I'd hurt her.

"Don't be. Not human, remember?" she gasped, removing her legs from around me and giving me a gentle shove. Of course, a gentle shove from a werewolf landed me on my back on the dirt floor of the forest with Leah hovering over me. She kissed my nose and smiled endearingly before settling her body over mine. I groaned as she moved over me, taking me inside again and resting her hands on my chest.

Leah's movements were slow, savoring me, us, the moment, all of it. My hands settled on her hips, feeling the muscles in her stomach flex as she rocked over me. Her lips were parted, her body slick with sweat. Murmurs fell from her parted lips and her eyelids fluttered, as if she had completely given in to her body.

Feeling a little mischievous, I slid my thumb over a few inches and touched her where we were joined, making feathery circles over the slick skin. She gasped and shivered; her muscles clenched around me, and I gasped a little myself. "Yeah?" I murmured, grinning crookedly up into her stunned-wide eyes, and increased the pressure of my thumb ever so slightly. "Is that a good 'oh'?"

Leah smiled at me slyly and murmured, "I don't know. Better keep doing it so I can be sure...Oh, _God_." Shuddering, clenching around me, babbling nonsense, she ground herself against me as she came, digging her nails into my chest.

I grabbed her shoulders and rolled us quickly, until I was hovering over her and trying to keep my weight from crushing her, but Leah pulled me closer, hooking her ankles around my waist, and pressed her lips to my neck. I rested my hands next to her head as I pushed myself deeper. She cried out and dug her hands into the dirt. Leaning down, I kissed her gently and tried to control my instincts.

It was a difficult task. I hadn't been enticed by Leah's blood since the first day we met, but being with her like this was different. Every fiber in my body was screaming to take her, to make her mine on a different level. Venom pooled in my mouth and I swallowed it, panting, then buried my face in Leah's hair. I breathed her in and tried to calm myself, to focus on the feeling of her around me– breathing, beautiful, _living_.

I could feel her hands on my back, nails digging across my impermeable skin. With my face still buried in her hair I let my hand travel down to hold her hip in place. I had no limit really, but Leah was _mostly_ human and I knew enough about humans to know what she needed. I pushed harder, deeper, until she was shuddering around me again. The feel of her rippling around me sent me over the edge until we were both gasping for breath, though I didn't even really need it.

_Perfect_.

I wasn't sure if I thought that or she did, so I turned us and pulled her onto my chest. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her nose to my skin, breathing deeply.

"I thought I repulsed you," I teased, feeling pretty damn proud to have put that look of sated, dazed abandon on her face.

A sly glint appeared in her eyes. "Oh, but you did..._repulse_ me, Edward," she breathed, closing her teeth around my earlobe, "twice." She nuzzled at my throat when I laughed, inhaling deeply. "You smell like…sunshine."

"Sunshine? Really? You couldn't think of something a _little _more masculine?" I asked, shoving her off me in mock-disgust and plucking my clothes off the ground. Leah laughed behind me and then stopped suddenly.

"I don't have any pants!" she yelled. I turned to see her glaring at me with her hands on her hips.

"What? You don't have any extra clothes shoved in a tree trunk somewhere?" I asked, smirking.

She narrowed her eyes and sauntered towards me, gloriously naked and more beautiful than any woman or vampire I'd ever seen.

"No. I don't. I'll expect you to make it up to me," she said as she walked past me.

"With what? A trip to the mall?" I joked.

"You'll see," she called and cast a quick glance back at me. "Come get me."

Then she ran. As she ran her body seemed to burst apart and then she was a blur of gray. I grabbed what was left of our clothes and followed her…quickly.

xXx

When I finally caught up with Leah she was human again, and standing in my backyard. Her words echoed in my head as I made my way to her: _Come get me_. For once in my life I didn't have to think twice about something. I pulled her into my arms and was upstairs before she even had a chance to exhale.

Leah laughed as she pawed impatiently at my pants before pushing them off and pulling me between her legs. I laughed with her. The sound of it startled me. It was loud and carefree and…happy. I couldn't remember the last time I was happy.

The second time was more intense than the first. I knew I didn't have to be careful with her and she was, by no means, careful with me. It occurred to me, sometime between Leah ripping the 400-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets Alice had bought in Milan and me pressing her against the hardwood floor, that what we were doing was incredibly unnatural. We were mortal enemies, right? That's what the Quileute legends told me.

I couldn't find it in me to care, though.

"What are you thinking?" Leah asked sometime later, raising herself up on her elbow and turning to face me.

"What are _you_ thinking?" I returned, mirroring her stance and resting my hand on her hip.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased before leaning in to kiss me. Her teeth grazed the skin of my chin and I bit back a moan.

"I would, actually. How do you do it?"

Leah frowned and lifted herself off the floor, grabbing what was left of the sheets and wrapping them around her body.

"I don't know, I just do." She shrugged.

"It's like you've been practicing for a long time. You know how to open and close off your thoughts…it's fascinating."

She snorted delicately and turned to the window. It was dark, the sun had set hours ago, and yet I still wasn't finished with her. At that moment I wasn't sure if I'd ever be finished with her.

"I have to go," Leah said quietly without looking at me.

"Are you sure?" I asked as I stepped toward her. She turned and smiled sadly, before nodding and letting the sheet puddle at her feet. My eyes raked over her body, an action that did not go unnoticed by Leah. I watched as a blush crept up her entire body and fought to control what every fiber of my being was telling me to do.

"I'll have to be sneaky though, considering I don't have any clothes," she said with the corners of her mouth turned up. I shrugged and handed her the shirt that I'd thrown on the floor. "Keep it," she said. "Call it a souvenir."

Leah made her way downstairs slowly and I followed. She made it to the door and turned to me, suddenly nervous, with a little smile. I touched her cheek and gently kissed her forehead.

"Goodbye, Edward."

I watched her walk away until I couldn't see her anymore. She leapt over the stream and darted into the woods, then was just a blur again.

"She's lovely. Very much out of your league," a voice said from behind me.

"Still following me?" I pushed myself past Demetri and walked quickly into the house.

"Aro's still waiting, Cullen."

"Oh, I think I need a little more time. You'll tell him that for me, won't you?" I tossed him an overconfident grin and opened the front door. "Wonderful to see you again, of course."

"Go to hell," he called as he made it down the stairs and up the driveway.

I laughed to myself at his words. "Soon enough, if your boss has his way," I muttered.


	6. Thursday

Seven Days – Thursday

**Leah**

I slipped into my bedroom via the window. Since it was well after midnight, my mother and brother would be asleep. Having them burst into my room to find me buck naked on the floor and smelling like sex and Edward would not be the ideal way to end my day.

After gathering clean clothes, I showered in a desperate attempt to wash Edward's scent off of me. Not that I wanted to get rid of his scent. Like I'd told him– he smelled like the sun, dry and clean, almost like laundry. It was strange, considering that when I'd first met Edward, his smell repulsed me, like every other vampire I'd met.

Then again, the first time we met…I already knew Edward was different. Today had only solidified that feeling. And then there were all the _other _feelings. The feelings that went against everything I'd ever known.

I let myself get carried away, something that never happened. Not these days anyways. These days I spent my time with the pack being careful. I was careful to not let them hear me and careful not to piss anyone off.

It wasn't that I actually cared about their feelings or what they thought. I was mostly looking out for myself. The difficult thing was having every thought I ever had out in the open for all of them to hear. So, I learned to turn it off when I was in wolf form and, according to Edward, while I was human, too.

The funny thing was that I didn't _want_ to hide things from Edward. I wanted to tell him about myself, about everything I'd been bottling up. I wanted to have someone to talk to for once.

With a sigh, I wrapped a fluffy towel around myself and stood in front of the mirror.

"Shit!" I whispered loudly, finally getting a look at myself. "Rode hard and put away wet" would be a conservative way to put it. My lips were swollen and light, already fading bruises decorated my jaw, as well as my shoulders. I dropped my towel to see the rest of the damage, and then turned around. The scratches on my back were already pink and healed; the scars would be gone in no time. Funny, when I was pressed up against that tree getting hurt was the last thing on my mind...

I shivered pleasantly at the thought and pulled on a t-shirt. All the evidence would be gone in a few hours and then I'd only have my memories. I was positive it wouldn't happen again, no matter how much I wanted it. As _right_ as it felt to be with Edward... I knew it was wrong...right?

Falling asleep that night was easy, though my dreams were filled with Edward yet again. Only this time my dream Edward didn't have red eyes and there was no body around him. These dreams were reminiscent of our day together. I could practically feel his cold hands on my skin, his lips on mine, and the way he felt inside me…it was no surprise when I woke up with the sun, sweating.

"Rough night?" my mother asked as she poured me a cup of coffee.

"No, it was fine," I muttered and tried to keep my face impassive.

She set the cup in front of me. "Did everything turn out the other night?"

I nodded and smiled a quick thanks for the kindness. "Almost."

"What's that mean?"

"We weren't- we weren't quick enough." I trailed off, swallowing hard, and let my gaze drift to the kitchen window. A figure moved between the trees and my eyes tightened.

"You can't save everyone, baby," my mother said softly; I felt the warmth of her hand on my shoulder and wished that I could accept the comfort she was offering. I shrugged it off and pushed myself away from the table.

"Then why do we even exist?" I asked before stalking out the back door, not even waiting for an answer.

"Is it dead?" Sam asked once I'd reached him.

"Yes. But so is the girl," I replied.

"Collateral damage, Leah. It happens." Sam shrugged. "You did well."

"Are you fucking kidding me? A girl _died_ and all you can say is 'good job'? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"It comes with the job, Leah. You know that."

"Well, I guess I expected you to be less of an asshole about it." I glared at him.

"It sucks, okay? But you did your best, right?"

"Yes," I muttered.

"Okay then."

"Is that all?" I sighed.

"That's all." He nodded. I turned away and started back to the house. "Oh, Leah?"

"Yeah?" I said without turning around.

"You need to be careful. With your new friend, I mean."

I froze, unable to move or speak. Surely no one had seen anything. There was no reason for anyone to be across our border…

"I don't understand," I replied, finally turning and meeting his eyes.

"He may be on our side, but he's still a vampire. I just want you to be careful."

"Oh, sure. I will be," I said with a tight smile. _Nice of you to pretend you care, fucker._

Sam gave me a quick nod before heading back to wherever he came from. Most likely home to Emily.

The thought of Sam getting cozy with Emily made my heart contract in a way that it shouldn't. He was with her now, though the way he ended up with her was completely and utterly fucked up, it shouldn't still hurt the way it did.

I made my way back to the house and changed, slipping into a comfortable pair of running shoes and pulling my short hair back the best I could.

And then I ran. I ran to get away from the dull staring eyes of the dead girl and the odd ripping noise James's head had made when Edward ripped it off and from the sad reproach in Edward's golden eyes when he'd realized I was afraid of him. It didn't work, of course; the only result was that my lungs felt like they were going to burst from my chest. When I stopped, I was on First Beach, a few miles from my own house. I stopped and watched the waves roll in, the sound of them much like the rushing in my own ears. So much had happened in the last few days, my life hardly seemed real at the moment. The dead girl, the dead vampire…and Edward.

The feelings I had for Edward were completely unexpected. They were like nothing I'd ever encountered and I had no idea what they meant, or what to do with them.

"Fancy meeting you here," I heard behind me. I froze, though not in surprise, in fear.

I turned slowly, smelling what was behind me before I saw him. He was there in a clean-cut, hand-tailored suit, but the only thing I really saw were his eyes. They were blood red and didn't hold the smile that was on his lips.

I couldn't find my voice to speak…or scream.

"You know, I already told Edward this, but you are way out of his league, sweetheart." The vampire took a step toward me and stumbled back. "Your heart is pounding, but your blood is…different."

I nodded.

"You aren't human, are you?"

"I am," I replied, finally finding my voice. "One hundred percent."

"See, you're lying. I don't like being lied to," the vampire muttered and shook his head. "Bad things happen to people who lie to me."

My heart caught in my throat and I did the only thing that seemed reasonable.

I ran.

I ran down the beach and ducked into the trees without a backward glance. My heart thundered in my ears and the muscles in my legs burned. My vision blurred as tears formed in my eyes.

It all stopped when I collided with a solid object: a cold, hard body.

I gasped and tried to turn away, but its arms were tight around me, and when he whispered my name I finally managed to stop struggling.

"Leah." Edward's voice was soft in my ear and I felt my legs collapse with the sob that fell from my lips. He held me with my back against his chest, though I wanted nothing more than to see his face. I was certain in the past few minutes of running that I'd never see him again.

"It's fine. It's okay," he said as he turned me toward him. I sighed with relief and let him take my face in his hands and finally met his eyes. The warm gold soothed me more than it should have, and the cool of his skin was like home.

"Did he…? Where is he?" I asked as I turned away from him, the burn of his gaze too intense to handle anymore.

"Gone. He'll be back, but not for you," Edward told me, pulling my face back to his. "You're safe now."

I managed to nod before throwing my arms around his neck and pressing my lips to his. He let out a soft moan and tightened his arms around me. I let my thoughts flow freely, reminding him of our bodies pressed together, of the sounds that came from both of us, of how it felt to be wrapped up in each other.

My earlier resolve didn't even wave goodbye as it flew completely out the window.

"You're very good at changing the subject," he murmured against my lips.

I laughed and pushed myself away from him. "I'm sorry. I got a little carried away," I admitted.

Edward smiled and brushed a stray hair from my face. I watched his eyes tighten as he did. "I need to tell you something, Leah. I haven't been completely honest with you…" He trailed off and I stepped back.

"What is it?" I asked as my thoughts went immediately to the worst. So many things rushed through my head: he was leaving, involved with someone else, married, or fucking imprinted...with my luck he'd be the only vampire in history to have _that_ happen.

"There are things that I haven't told you," he said softly. "Things that will make this harder on you…on both of us."

"What's 'this'? What are you talking about?"

Edward stepped forward as if to embrace me again, but stopped short with his hands frozen in mid-air, clenched into fists.

"Leah!" I heard my name from behind me and turned so quickly I nearly gave myself whiplash.

Jared and Seth were pushing their way toward us. Their faces were full of confusion at the sight of Edward and me.

"Are you okay?" Seth's voice was worried and his eyes were set on Edward.

"I'm fine, little brother," I managed to tell him, schooling my expression into one of neutral indifference. Last thing I needed was the pack giving me hell about my jungle fever.

"There was a vamp, but I guess you already knew that…" Jared muttered. His dark eyes bore into mine, and I knew he was remembering the night of the club.

"There was a different one," Edward said as he stepped forward. "He won't cause you any trouble, I assure you."

"And we're supposed to trust you?" Seth asked.

"Seth!"

Edward smiled. "I promise you he won't. He's not here for you, or any other humans. He's after me."

The gasp fell from my lips before I could stop it, and Edward turned to me slowly.

"Will you come to me? Later?" he asked, so quietly that even the others with their wolfy senses couldn't hear.

I agreed silently. _Later._

Edward gave me a smile of thanks before nodding to Jared and Seth and disappearing like a light breeze.

Seth shrugged and walked away, but Jared kept his eyes on me. I could practically hear the words he was screaming at me.

_You're playing with fire, girl._

I shook my head and pushed past him, letting Seth lead us out of the trees and back home.

"_I need to go, Jared," I said as I paused at the door. _

"_You said it was over, Leah. The vamp's dead, right?" Jared asked with his eyes full of concern. If there was anyone besides Seth in the pack I could trust, it was Jared. _

"_Yeah, he's dead. It's just…" I trailed off and met his eyes. Jared shook his head but the look on his face let me know he didn't understand... but he wouldn't tell anyone.. _

"_There's a park about three blocks away. It's safe to phase there." _

"_Thank you," I replied. _

"_Be careful." He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the door. "I mean it, Leah. You don't know what you're getting yourself into." _

"_I know that, Jared. Don't you think I know that?" _

"_I'm not being supportive of this, just so you know." _

_A little laugh bubbled from my chest. "Right, because I need your support." _

"_You just might," he said as I flung the door open. _

_I nodded in agreement and let the door close behind me, eager to find Edward. _

"He just looks like a regular guy," Seth said once we'd caught up with him.

"Who?" Jared queried.

"Leah's vampire." My brother shrugged. I shoved his shoulder.

"He's not _mine_," I argued.

"It sure looked like it," Seth teased.

"Shut up! You're such a child," I practically yelled as I stomped away.

They laughed behind me and I fought the smile that played on my lips.

Maybe he _was_ mine…but I had a feeling that he wouldn't be for very long.


	7. Friday

Seven Days – Friday

**Edward **

She was barely visible in the moonlight, but I knew she was there even before I saw her: my ears took in the barely audible _snap_ of the twigs under her feet, and her scent, warmth and cinnamon, teased my nose, got into my head, made me want to forget what was coming and lose myself in her. Suddenly I couldn't be close enough to her. I went to her quickly, pulling her against me, framing her pretty face in my hands and kissing her hard.

"Whoa there, slugger." Leah laughed lightly and pushed me away, looking a little taken aback. "That's quite a welcome, Edward."

"I wasn't sure you'd actually show," I confessed as I took her hand and led her back to the house.

Cocking her head, "Don't trust me?" Leah said with a little smile.

"I do." _More than I should probably._ I closed the door behind me and kissed her again, getting lost in the feel of my fingers in her cool silky hair and her body molding to mine. She let out a breathy gasp when my hand slipped under the hem of her shirt and I smiled against her lips. I had thoroughly enjoyed her reactions the day before, and now all I wanted to do was spend hours figuring out how to get more of those incredibly hot little whimpers out of her.

I pulled away with a resigned sigh. There was no time to give in to my baser urges, and I was pretty sure that after I told her the truth she wouldn't want me to.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she reached up and brushed my hair off my forehead.

"I needed to talk to you."

Leah slipped out of my arms and headed into the living room. She curled up on the end of the couch and patted the seat next to her. "So talk."

I eyed her for a moment before going upstairs. I returned quickly and she gave me an appraising look, which I shook off.

"What's that?" Leah pointed to the box in my hand. I sat next to her and rested my hand on top of the box.

"It's what's left of my life. My human life."

"Oh."

The lid creaked as I opened it and Leah cringed at the sound. Inside were the remnants of the boy I'd been: small trinkets from my childhood, keys that once fit the front door to my home, earrings that belonged to my mother, and old photographs.

I held the earrings up and the dangly diamonds sparkled in the light of the room. I watched them, but Leah's focus wasn't on the earrings, it was on the box.

"She's beautiful," she whispered as she picked up the picture.

"She's the reason I do this," I said quietly. I took Katherine's picture from her hand and let my fingers trace the face in the photo.

"What happened?" Leah rested her hand over mine; her warm fingers threaded themselves with my own. I smiled at how well they fit.

"I got the flu," I told her.

The corners of her mouth turned up and she shook her head.

"Edward," she chided.

"Spanish influenza, to be exact. In 1918, during the pandemic you probably read about in your U.S. history class."

Leah's face fell and her eyes widened. "But you're…"

"Carlisle changed me. It was my mother's dying wish. She knew what he was and begged him on her deathbed," I explained.

Leah watched my face for a long moment before her gaze traveled back to the picture in my hand. "Who is she, then?"

"Katherine. I guess you could say she was my girlfriend, though back then we didn't really use those terms." I shrugged and put the picture back in the box.

"Did she have the flu too?" Leah asked with thoughtful eyes.

I tore myself away from her gaze and set the box on the table in front of me. "No. He killed her. James. I watched him drain her and I held her in my arms after she died. I couldn't do anything to stop him. I couldn't move. I was paralyzed by fear or anger..._something_. I couldn't do anything to stop him. Here I was, this strong superhuman and I just...froze. Like a coward. I let her lose everything that night."

I could feel her watching me as her thoughts flowed freely, her mind open to me for once again. The conversations we'd had, the articles, the night at the club.

Then the roof. And James. The things he'd said whirled in her head until she gasped and gripped my hand tightly.

"You've been looking for him all these years?"

"Yes," I answered. "Finding him has been what's kept me going. It gave me a purpose, let me do something to redeem myself."

"Edward?" She said my name softly and I finally turned to her. "It wasn't your fault."

"Maybe it wasn't. But I owed her that much. I let her die so I found her killer."

"And now he's dead…" She trailed off and stood abruptly, both her mind and her face going closed and hard. "Is this what you wanted to tell me? That you've avenged your lost love, so now you're picking up and leaving?"

I watched her pace the length of the living room. "Leah." I stepped into her path, catching her by the elbow and turning her body to mine.

"Just go, Edward," she said quietly as she turned away, her tone cold enough to even make me shiver.

"I told you, Leah. I haven't been completely honest with you. If you'd just let me-"

"I don't care what you have to say, Edward. You _used_ me!" she yelled.

I recoiled as if she'd slapped me. I wished she would have.

"It's not like that, Leah." I blocked her as she tried to make her way out the back door. I knew how pathetic I sounded, but I didn't care. I needed her to know that what we had was real. Totally unexpected and completely doomed to end unhappily, but real nonetheless. And I _really_ needed her to stop trying to run away from me.

"Just stop, Edward! You think I haven't heard that before?" Leah demanded, putting her hands in front of her. I froze and her dark eyes cut through me like she'd just set me on fire.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"I helped you get your revenge for a girl you loved ninety years ago. And then you… we…you let me believe that we were doing something good!"

"We were!" I cried. "We did."

"I can't even look at you right now. You should have told me the truth." She turned away and sniffled quietly. She was right. I shouldn't have been such a coward. But then again, it wasn't the first time I had been...

"I promise you, Leah. That was about _us_. Nothing else."

"There is no _us_, Edward. We're supposed to be mortal enemies, or have you forgotten?" she spat, still refusing to look at me.

"I haven't. But it doesn't matter to me. _You _matter, Leah," I said as I gently touched her shoulder. She didn't flinch away and I took that as a good sign.

"What else?"

"What?"

"What else do you have to tell me?" She addressed her question to the air just to the left of my shoulder, and I sighed.

"The vampire from earlier, on the beach– he's here for me. You were right with what you said a few days ago. My actions haven't gone unnoticed," I explained and watched her eyes tighten.

"What's going to happen?"

"They gave me seven days."

"Seven days for what?" she asked as she _finally_ turned to me.

"Seven days to turn myself in. To join them." I reached out and gently touched her cheek.

"Or?" She moved away from my touch this time.

I let my hand drop. "Or they find me..."

"Oh," she whispered. "Who are they? Why do they have so much power over you?"

"They're like royalty. Peacekeepers– "

"Peacekeepers? They want to kill you!" she cried.

"If I don't go, they'll kill my family. And you."

"Me? I don't – they wouldn't…"

"Demitri saw you leaving here. That's how he found you in the forest. He's a tracker, and he can find anyone anywhere. If I choose against them…everyone I care about is as good as dead."

Something flashed in her eyes, but it was gone before I could register what it was. "How much longer?"

I took a deep breath, an old habit that didn't really help the situation at all. "Two days."

Leah laughed loudly and turned away from me. She ran her hands through her hair and swore at the sky.

"Two days? Two _fucking _days? How is that fair?"

Despite the immediate situation, I somehow felt lighter at her words. She thought it wasn't fair. We had two days left and that wasn't fair. My body acted on its own accord as my arms wrapped around her from behind. Leah moved quickly, though. She threw her arms around my neck and buried her face in my skin.

"Like sunshine," she whispered, sounding shaky.

I chuckled softly and kissed her head. "I'm sorry."

Leah sighed as she pulled away. "It's nothing new to me, Edward." I knew all too well what she meant. She'd let me in, after all. I'd seen all her thoughts; I knew how things always seemed to end for her.

"I wish I could change the ending, just this once."

"Me too." She nodded and held her hand out to me.

I took it quite willingly. "I meant what I said before. What's happened between us has _only_ been about us. Nothing else."

Leah nodded but didn't say anything. I took her silence as acceptance and hoped I could prove to her that what I'd told her was true.

"Two days, huh?" She looked at me with those big eyes and I wanted to yell and scream and tell her 'no' and that I'd never in a million years leave her- but I couldn't.

"Yes," I whispered and held out my hand. "Aro, the leader, gave me a week. Demetri's been lurking this whole time. If I don't show up I'm afraid he's going to take me back in pieces," I joked weakly.

Leah didn't laugh. Instead she closed her eyes and sighed deeply before squeezing my hand tightly.

"How is so simple?" She asked. _For you to leave,_ she added silently.

"It isn't," I told her quietly and hoped with every fiber of my being that she knew what I said was true. Leaving was going to be the hardest thing I'd ever done, there was no doubt about that. But it had to be done. I had to keep them safe.

Then she let me lead her back inside, up the stairs, and into my bedroom. I hadn't find it in me to clean up our mess from earlier in the week. The mangled sheets were still pooled on the floor, our clothes still scattered. Her scent still filled the room and I was bombarded with it the moment we stepped inside.

"You're not much for cleanliness, are you?" she asked as she stepped over a pile of books we'd knocked over.

I shrugged. "I've been busy."

Leah laughed. The sound of it was carefree- strange after our recent conversation, but I didn't care.

She sat on the edge of the bed and tugged me down to her. I sat down and rested my arms behind me.

"I haven't felt this…_human_ in a long time," I murmured against her shoulder.

She shivered under my lips. "Me either," Leah admitted. "Can we just…talk?"

"Anything you want," I told her before sliding up and resting against the headboard.

"What were you like? As a human?" she asked, curling herself around me and resting her head on my shoulder like it was something she'd done every day of our lives– like it was something that we could do every day for eternity. I slipped my arm around her, committing every detail of this to memory; if I was going to give myself up to the Volturi, I'd make damned sure I had some good memories to lose myself in.

"I don't really remember much," I said with a shrug. "I grew up in Chicago. Carlisle tells me that my mother and I had green eyes. My father was a lawyer before he died. I remember Katherine…but not much else."

Her nails raked gently through the hair at my nape, and I closed my eyes briefly to enjoy the soothing caress. "I'm sorry."

"My dad and I liked baseball. He took me to see the Cubs play a few times. Mom used to sing while she cooked. She always smelled like sugar." I closed my eyes as I talked and even more memories filled my mind.

Family dinners.

Walks in the park with Katherine.

My mother's smile.

My father's laugh.

I hadn't thought about those things in so many years, but like I'd told Leah…she made me feel human again. She brought the blood rushing to the surface again, in so many ways.

"You loved her, didn't you?" Leah turned her head and I met her eyes, soft and dark as a doe's.

"I think so," I told her, though I really didn't know. After Carlisle had changed me, I'd grown to love my parents, and I cared for my new "siblings", but I couldn't really remember what it felt like to be in love.

I could only imagine it was very close to what I was feeling with Leah, right then and there.

"Tell me what you're thinking," I whispered, nuzzling into the crown of her beautiful, fragile head.

She sighed and closed her eyes before letting me in.

_A little girl moved around the kitchen in a too-big apron. She buttered toast and carefully poured juice without spilling a drop, then set it on the table and sat, waiting expectantly. _

_A moment later a man walked it. He had a kind smile and the same eyes as the little girl. His smile only grew when he saw his daughter waiting for him. _

"_What's this?"_

_She grinned toothily."I made you breakfast!" _

"_You are the sweetest little girl in the world, did you know that?" He pulled his daughter into his arms and kissed her cheek. _

"I had no idea you were the domestic type," I teased.

Leah laughed softly. "I figured it was only fair to show you my childhood," she said.

"You miss him," I stated.

"Every day," she whispered and then continued after a quiet moment, "He had a heart attack at work. He was dead before the paramedics showed up."

I listened, unsure of what to say. Apologizing just didn't seem like enough. Truth was, I didn't remember much after my father died and I was so delirious by the time my mother passed away that I had no memory at all. Most of what I remember of the end of my human life Carlisle had told me.

"Some days are worse than others," she said when I didn't respond. Leah was quiet after that and let me see more of her memories. There were bits and pieces of her life that I was sure she held onto for the "worse" days.

Soon her thoughts drited to mundane things like the beach, her favorite books, and then to me. I let my arm tighten around her and watched goosebumps prickle her skin. "Cold?"

"Yes, you are a little," Leah joked lightly.

"Warm me up, then."

"Is that an offer?" She raised an eyebrow and didn't wait for an answer. Her hand was on the back of my neck and her lips were pressed to mine before I could say anything.

I took my time removing her clothes, making sure I locked it all away in my head. I didn't want to forget her, and part of me knew that I never, _ever_ would.

The way she sighed my name.

How her fingers felt on my skin.

Her eyelashes as they spread across her cheeks.

The sweet taste of her lips on mine.

All of it was there already, imprinted on my brain forever.

xXx

The sun had just started to rise when Leah finally drifted off to sleep. I watched her for hours as the sun moved through the room. It fell on her face, highlighting the light bruises on her cheek. I felt my chest tighten at the thought of hurting her, but she never complained if I had. Cautiously, I reached out and trailed the back of my hand across her cheek.

She stirred slightly and covered my hand with her own.

"Hi," she said with a yawn, and then squinted at me. "Is that– are you wearing glitter?"

I frowned and looked down, realizing that the sun was coming through the window and was dancing across my skin. It was then that I realized she'd never seen me in direct sunlight.

"Oh…yeah. It does that." I shrugged.

"It does that?" She sat up and giggled. "Hold still," she said as she reached up and touched my face. "You're very pretty."

"Shut up," I said with a laugh before pressing her into the mattress.

"Do all of you do that?"

"As far as I know." I kissed her neck and smiled as she squirmed under me.

"It's very distracting," Leah replied with her eyes focused on the ceiling and the prisms that my skin had thrown.

"Should I close the curtains or will you be sad that the pretty lights have gone?"

Leah scowled and pushed me away. "I need to go, anyways."

"Will you be back?" I asked.

She slipped out of my bed and pulled her clothes back on. After staring at the floor for a long moment, she nodded.

"I have to work at the diner tonight…" She trailed off and looked away. _I don't want to lose any time with you. _

"I'll see you tonight then," I told her as I quickly dressed and went to her.

"Tonight," she agreed.

**Leah **

My house felt so unfamiliar after spending the night with Edward. It was quiet and too dark in contrast to Edward's bright bedroom. It smelled like different foods and antiseptic cleaner and _not_ sunshine.

Edward smelled like sunshine.

A little laugh slipped through my lips at the thought. Before I knew it I was doubled over in the kitchen laughing hysterically. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I didn't even try to stop them.

All I could think about was Edward. How Edward smelled, how Edward tasted…how Edward felt inside of me.

"Oh, I'm so completely fucked," I whispered as I finally wiped my tears away.

I'd only known Edward for six days. _Six days,_ and he'd changed everything. He made me feel brave and beautiful and wanted. Edward made me feel things that I didn't even know existed.

And tomorrow he'd be gone. He'd leave and take all of those things with him- all those things that he made me feel and need. He'd take himself and I'd never see him again. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I still smelled like him. I wondered briefly what would happen to the house he lived in. Would his family come back? Would they act like nothing had happened to him?

And what would happen to Edward? Would this "royalty" kill him? Or would they just make him do their dirty work?

"Leah?" Seth said my name and I turned quickly. I could only imagine the guilty look on my face.

"Hey, little bro, I didn't see you there." I wrapped my arms around myself, as if that would help me hold in Edward's scent, the smell of sex, or whatever else my body would want to give away.

"You were with him, weren't you?" Seth narrowed his eyes at me and I felt my heart rate increase.

"What do you mean?" I shifted my feet and tried to avoid his gaze.

"You reek of vampire, Leah. You're not the only one in this house with hypersensitive senses, you know."

"Seth, I…"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? What if he bites you? You know venom is deadly to us!"

"He won't! He's not like that!" I cried and immediately regretted it. My emotions were going to get the best of me and Seth would find out things that I _really_ didn't want my little brother to know. "Look, kid– "

"I'm not a kid anymore!" he yelled.

"I know, Seth. God, I know." I went to him and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. "Please don't say anything."

"I can't, Lee-Lee…" Seth tore himself away from me and I felt tears prick my eyes again.

"He's leaving tomorrow. He'll be gone. Forever," I explained. Seth turned to me and caught the sadness in my voice, the tears that had already fallen and his face fell, too.

"Leah…" He stepped toward me and I held my hand up.

"Please don't," I whispered. "I know it's not a good situation, but you don't have to worry about me, okay? It'll be over tomorrow."

"I'm sorry," Seth said quietly.

I shook my head and turned from him, too upset to talk about it anymore and still not sure why. Seth slipped out the back door and I knew I could trust him.

Still, I couldn't figure out why Edward did these things to me. He was the first person I'd felt so intensely for. I'd loved Sam, but this feeling with Edward was just…strong. There was no other way to put it. It was deep and passionate and so, so _wrong_.

I knew it was wrong. I knew being with Edward went against everything I'd ever know but I just couldn't find it in me to care.

xXx

**Edward **

I watched her work, moving around the diner, smiling at the few customers that came and went for the few hours she was there. Leah tried to shoo me away after the first hour, but I stayed put. I just wanted to be around her, to see her a little while longer. It was like rubbing salt in an open wound, because the longer I stayed, the more it would hurt– for both of us.

"I don't know how you managed to kill all those vampires," she teased as she locked the door behind us.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I shoved my hands in my pockets, though I wanted nothing more than to touch her.

"You're just…the worst stalker ever!"

I laughed, and she smiled, and then I really did have to touch her. She shivered when I pulled her into my arms and I hoped it wasn't from the cold.

"If I was stalking you, you'd never know," I whispered.

"You charmer, you." Leah laughed and took my hand in hers before she tugged me across the parking lot.

"Are we going somewhere?"

"Yes," she stated simply. I let her lead me for a few moments until she veered off a little dirt path.

I smiled and let go of her hand as I stepped forward into a little clearing. The metal rings i grabbed were smooth and cool beneath my fingers; I could hear Leah's quiet sigh behind me.

"I haven't been to one of these in… a long time," I said as I tugged the chain of the swing toward me. It creaked as it swung back and forth.

"A park? Really? Seth and I used to come here all the time," Leah replied.

"Not much time for parks when you're ridding the world of murderous vampires," I said as solemnly as I could.

Leah flashed a smirk and shoved me as hard as she could. I landed ass-first in the mulch.

"Good to know you haven't lost your sense of humor," she muttered.

"One day left on Earth, might as well make the most of it." I shrugged.

"Not funny."

"I know," I whispered. I held out my hand and she took it, letting me pull her down with me until she was in my lap with her legs on either side of my body. I kissed her gently.

"You don't have to go," Leah said quietly when she pulled away.

"I do, Leah. You don't understand…"

"Help me to," she begged. Her hands slipped into my hair and I pressed my forehead to hers.

"I lived my entire immortal life running. I can't do that to my family. I _won't_ do that to you," I said softly.

"If they loved you it wouldn't matter! It–"

"It matters to me," I told her. She pressed her warm lips to my forehead and sat back to look at me once more. "A life of running is not something I would choose for them. Or you for that matter."

"Why do you get to make the choice at all?" she narrowed her eyes at me.

"Because it's my fault, and only my fault." I sighed. She glared for a moment before finally relenting.

"Come on then, big, brave vampire. You've got one night left, might as well live it right." Leah slipped out of my lap and stood up. She held out her hand and I let her pretend to help me up.

She took a seat on one of the swings and gestured for me to take the other. I do so, slightly wary that the rickety chain wouldn't hold me. Surprisingly, it did.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" she asked with a small smile.

"It's nice," I replied.

"Not what you want to be doing with your last night?"

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be." I held out my hand and she slipped her palm into mine.

"I was hoping you'd say that."


	8. Saturday

**Killerlashes said something about snot-sobbing in the corner after reading this. IDK what that means... **

* * *

><p>Seven Days – Saturday<p>

**Leah **

"Stop that!" I squealed, and pushed Edward's hands away.

"I just wanted to see something," he said with a quiet sigh. "I miss being human sometimes."

I snorted. "You miss being ticklish? Freak."

"Takes one to know one." An evil glint in his eye was my only warning before he launched into a full-scale tickle attack. Shrieking, I wriggled and writhed until he threw a leg over me and pinned me to the couch.

"Enough, Edward," I panted, giggly and breathless, "I give, I give!"

"Ha." Edward grinned and settled himself over me more fully. "I win." We were still fully clothed and squeezed together on the couch.

"When I was a boy, I was ticklish right here," he said and ran a finger down the side of my neck (I shivered, but not from being tickled). "My father would come home from work and chase me around the house until he caught me. Then he would throw me into the air and blow raspberries on my skin."

I smiled and touched his face gently. He'd been remembering things all night. How his mother would sing him to sleep, the smell of his father's cologne. He spoke about his human life with a sad reverence and it made my heart ache for him. From what little he remembered, it was obvious that if he hadn't gotten sick, Edward could have been anyone, done anything he wanted.

Looking at him in the faint light of the living room, he seemed so _human_. He was just a boy, really, and yet, he'd already lived a hundred years beyond boyhood.

A hundred years of sadness and anger.

A hundred years of searching for revenge.

A hundred years of loneliness.

If I lived for a hundred years, I'd never forget him.

"Do you think they'll kill you?" I asked, feeling morbid.

Edward pressed his lips to my neck, and then sat up and pulled me with him.

"If I go willingly, I don't believe so," he mused quietly with his eyes focused on something out the window.

"Do you plan on going quietly?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

He chuckled and laced our fingers together. "I have no intention of putting up a fight, if that's what you're worried about."

"I may have been," I told him without meeting his eyes.

"I have to make sure they won't hurt my family." Edward closed his eyes, almost as if he were tired, and leaned his head back against the couch. "I can't let anything happen to them."

"I know how that feels," I muttered. Edward squeezed my hand and gave me a sad smile.

"It's strange to me, to feel this way," he said as he pulled me into his lap.

"What way?" I asked as I ran my hands through the hair at the back of his neck.

He shrugged. "Happy."

I kissed him then. It was slow and building. He let me control it, let me take my time. I wanted to suspend us here forever in this moment when it felt like there was nothing else in the world but us. The past week had felt like a dream, like something out of someone else's life. But us there together just then, just that moment, felt so very real.

There were so many things I wanted to say to him, but didn't. I knew that it would all sound crazy. But then again, the look in his eyes made me think that maybe it wouldn't have been so crazy at all.

"One last time?" he asked quietly. His voice was low and his eyes were pleading. I couldn't have said no, even if I'd tried.

"Until our very last minute," I replied as I pulled myself closer. He nodded with his eyes on my lips and then kissed me again, not so slow this time. Our time was limited, and maybe we should have spent the time talking, but maybe talking would let us get to know each other more. And getting to know each other more would only hurt in the long run.

So we didn't talk.

We breathed and touched.

We sighed and laughed.

We let our bodies say what words couldn't, over and over, until the sun started to filter in through the big open windows.

His skin shone in the light of the early morning and I smiled.

He really was beautiful.

We were curled up on the floor in the living room. Neither one of us could find it in ourselves to move to a bedroom, but it didn't really matter.

I touched his cheek softly and his eyelids fluttered like he was sleeping. His chest moved as he breathed, though I knew he didn't need it.

"Am I sparkling again?" he muttered.

I chuckled. "A little."

"Laugh now. You'll miss it."

"You have no idea," I murmured.

"I do," he returned.

Of course he did. I'd let him in. Let him see everything.

"I want to come with you."

"You can't, Leah. They'd kill you on sight-"

"Not to _Italy_, you idiot!" I cried, sitting up and staring incredulously down at him.

He laughed and gave me a half-smile. "Sorry, wishful thinking. Come with me where, then?"

"To the airport. Can I take you?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea…" he trailed off and avoided my gaze.

"Okay." I shrugged.

"Do you really want to?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know. Part of me wants to see you off, to make sure you really are going to where you say you are."

"You don't trust me?" His eyes turned on me. Gold and wary.

"I don't trust myself."

"What does that mean?" he asked as he brushed my hair from my face.

"Maybe that…saying goodbye will help me make sure you're real. That's all."

"Leah, I can promise you, I am very, very real," he said, his lips to my ear, and nipped at my earlobe. "And so is everything that's happened between us. Never doubt that."

I swallowed against the lump of the sorrow lodged in my throat and pressed my cheek to his, almost desperate for as much physical contact with him as I could get. "Then let me prove it. Please?"

"Fine," he sighed, smiling crookedly. "I haven't been able to say no to you yet. No point in starting now."

I stood up and stretched, enjoying the way his eyes raked over my body as I did.

"I'll be back soon," I said before yanking my clothes up off the floor and heading out the back door. I felt his eyes on me, but I didn't turn.

I didn't need another reason to make myself stay.

xXx

**Edward**

She left and the house immediately felt darker, colder. Sighing, I heaved myself off the floor and made my way around the room, gathering my clothes and slipping them back on.

They smelled like her. I hoped they'd always smell like her.

My phone buzzed from the pocket of my jeans and I slipped it out, thinking about the rest of the world for the first time in hours.

I scrolled through my missed calls: all from Alice.

"Edward." Alice picked up after the first ring. Her voice was quiet and sad.

"I'm sorry," I managed to choke out before I sank to my haunches, clenching my hand around the iron bannister. I knew I'd leave it bent out of shape. I didn't care.

"I understand," she replied.

"I have to go, Alice. If I don't…"

"I know, Edward. I've seen it. I've seen every way it could possibly go. No matter what you chose, every decision you made, you ended up here every time. You're right."

"You'll be safe. It's the only way."

"I know. I don't know what we'll do without you, but I know we'll survive."

"I'll miss you, you know," I told her.

"Of course you will," she answered.

"What about –"

"I don't know, Edward. I can't see her."

"Good. I mean, it's probably better that way."

"You care about her," she stated simply. I didn't argue, it was true.

"Tell the others, will you? Tell them I'm sorry."

"They know, Edward."

"Don't try to find me. Please."

"I won't," she sighed.

"You're lying." I fought my own smile.

"You know me well." Alice laughed softly.

"I love you, Mary Alice. Always have," I whispered.

"I love you too, Edward. Always will."

And then she was gone. I stared at the phone for a long moment and then I crushed it. It crumbled in my hand and littered the hardwood floor with little pieces of metal.

After that I smashed the computer, covering my tracks, but also needing to destroy any temptation to communicate with them. There was a strange aching in my chest after I did it. I knew Alice would always be watching, monitoring the twisting tendrils of possibilities for any change in my future, and part of me was grateful that I had someone looking out for me. The other part of me was guilty that she would always be waiting for me to die. Or to come back.

I didn't waste any more time thinking. I quickly gathered a few of my things and put them in a small bag with a couple items of clothing: my father's watch, my mother's earrings, and a handful of photos, including the ones I'd kept of Katherine for so long. I shoved the watch and earrings in my pocket, not wanting them to be lost in the shuffle of things.

The door slammed downstairs and I could hear Leah's frantic thoughts the minute she entered the house. I quickly ran downstairs and was assaulted by her worry.

"I thought you'd left without me!" She threw her arms around me.

"I told you I wouldn't," I whispered.

She sighed and pulled away. "I'm sorry. I was just so…"

"I know." I nodded.

We didn't talk as I led her to the car. It was silent as I drove. Her thoughts were loud enough, however.

"You want me to change my mind," I said quietly.

She sighed and reached over the center console to take my hand. "No."

"Your thoughts are telling me otherwise," I replied.

She scowled. "Get out of my head."

I laughed. "You know I can't help it."

"You're going to find something you don't want in there eventually."

"No. You're all I want."

She gave a little gasp and looked away, blinking hard and fast. "Then stay," she said softly.

"If only," I breathed.

We drifted into silence again while my mind went into overdrive. I could stay. We could run. We could run forever.

We would have to.

I shook the thoughts from my head and kissed her hand, just as we arrived at the airport. I hadn't told her that we would be arriving just in time for me to get on a plane and leave her. There wouldn't be time for goodbyes and for that I knew we would both be grateful. I didn't need any more temptations to take my mind.

It had only been a few days, but they had been the most incredible of my existence. Leah was a warrior, and she was scarred and angry and broken. But she was also beautiful, and sexy, and stubborn… perfect.

I'd never meet anyone like her, not for as long as I lived.

And I'd probably live for eternity.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, taking my hand as we walked through the crowd.

"Nothing." I smiled. "We're here." I gestured to the security gate in front of us.

"Already?" she asked quietly.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"No, I understand." She nodded and blinked furiously.

I quickly wrapped my arms around her and let her bury her face in my shirt.

_Not fair_.

"I know," I whispered into her hair.

"I keep thinking about what would have happened if we'd been different. If we'd met some other time, or place, or life…"

"What fun would that have been?" I asked, and she laughed quietly.

"Hardly any at all," she replied. "You'll take care of yourself, right?"

"I'll do my best."

"Don't let them change you, Edward."

I searched her face. Those dark eyes that met mine, that seemed to believe that there was good in me.

"I won't," I vowed.

She nodded and took a deep breath.

"You should go."

I cupped her face between my hands and kissed her as gently as I could. She threw her arms around my neck and I took that moment to slip my hand from my pocket to hers, hoping she'd find what I slipped into it before it was too late.

"You'll always be a part of me, Leah." I kissed her forehead and pulled away. Her eyes were sad but dry, her mind a closed room again.

"I'd say keep in touch, but…"

"It'll be better if we don't," I told her.

"It's real, right?" she whispered.

"Yes," I answered.

"That's all I needed to know." She took a step back and wrapped her arms around herself, like she was holding herself together. Leah was strong, I knew that. But I still wanted to protect her, to keep her from being sad.

"Thank you for helping me. For everything."

"I didn't do anything," she muttered and turned away.

I turned her to me and touched her cheek. "You have no idea what you've done for me."

She smiled. "I have a small inkling."

"Good." I grinned.

"Go. Before I do something drastic, like cry."

"I'll always be grateful that I met you," I said before kissing her one last time. "Always." I turned away before she could say anything else and found myself in line with the other passengers.

_Edward, s_he thought, loud and clear.

I turned and met her eyes through the crowd.

_Me too. _

Then she was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>The epilogue will be up in a bit. :) <strong>


	9. Epilogue

Seven Days – Epilogue

_"I surrender who I've been for who you are." - Turning Page, _Sleeping at Last

I walked the covered streets of Pomarance quickly, the cobbled sidewalk barely making a sound beneath my feet. The flashing Tuscan sun played hide-and-seek with the charming striped awnings that adorned the storefronts, though I didn't dare step out from beneath them for fear of upsetting the locals.

I'd been in Italy for six months. They'd been the longest six months of my existence.

For starters, it had been six months without Leah.

It had been six months of training to become a small but persistent evil, of listening to the thoughts of the others around me and of trying to talk myself out of walking into a fire when I heard them. Six months of trying to remember what I stood for each time they brought me a human to feed from. I refused every time until they finally realized that I wasn't going to back down. If I had to sell myself to them in every other way I would at least keep _that _particular part of my old life.

Demetri was the first to accept it, and the others followed: little Jane and Alec, colossal Felix, and the rest of the Volturi guard, none worth naming. Aro still held out hope, though. I could hear it in his every thought. He wanted me wholly, fully.

I wouldn't give in. I didn't join them because I wanted to.

I was there for one very important reason: Leah.

What I had told her was true: if I hadn't joined them, she would have been killed. Aro would have done everything in his power to destroy everything I loved, and I had no doubt that she would have been first. Even though I'd never touched him and never let him see my thoughts, Demetri had met her: he still knew. And he would find her, of that I was sure.

I finally reached my destination, the small post office in the town square. Bianca, the clerk, greeted me with a smile and handed me two pieces of mail. I thanked her and made my way back onto the crowded street where children laughed and played while their parents watched, thinking prosaic little human thoughts. People gathered on corners, smiling and talking and silently worrying about bills and boyfriends and jobs. Some things never changed, no matter the time or the language. I gave a sigh, more out of habit than anything else, and opened the first letter.

It wasn't unusual to receive mail, but having two letters put me on high alert. I knew from the elegant curling hand on the first envelope that Alice was the sender. There had never been a doubt in my mind that she would keep in contact, keep looking for me and my possible future, and she was smart enough to write in semi-coded language and to send each letter from a different location and alias. I also knew that if she saw something unfavorable that she would keep it to herself as to not upset the rest of the family.

Of course, my time with the Volturi did very much resemble the other ninety years of my life in certain ways. I still hunted vampires that were determined to draw attention to us. I just did it with reinforcements and permission now. Sometimes I would bring them back to Aro and his brothers. That was the part that I hoped Alice kept from the family: the part where I brought our kind to be tortured and killed or forced to join. I never stayed for that part of the evening, preferring to quietly slip off to my quarters and be alone. I lived for the days and nights I got to spend in quiet solitude and away from the bloodthirsty thoughts of my so-called comrades.

"_Ah, there you are, Edward. We've been waiting," Aro greeted me as I stepped into the large library of the mansion the Volturi owned. _

"_Afraid I wouldn't show? Ready to send out the cavalry?" I raised an eyebrow and dropped my bag at my feet. _

_He laughed breathily and stood, though I was sure his papery skin would disintegrate with each step he took. Aro finally reached me and held out his hand, his cloudy eyes eager. _

"_I'm here, Aro. That's all I'm going to give you." I glared. _

_He chuckled again and dropped his hand."You are a stubborn one, aren't you?" he mused. I shrugged and shoved my hands in my pocket. "Demetri tells me you sacrificed a great deal coming here." _

"_Well, your pawn obviously doesn't know what he's talking about. My work is done. I had nothing left there," I lied, and hoped I wasn't as transparent as I felt. _

"_Perhaps no," Aro said quietly as his eyes focused on my hands. I shoved them in the pockets of my jeans and shifted my feet. "I fear I'll never know you fully, Edward. This saddens me. If we are to work together, we must trust each other." _

"_You can trust me, Aro," I stated, not bothering to point out the obvious: I couldn't trust him. _

I pushed those thoughts out of my mind and smiled as I opened the first letter. Alice was good to keep out their names and location. She gave me just enough information to know that they were happy and safe. I folded the letter and dropped it into the nearest trash can, not wanting to chance taking it back to Volterra with me. I didn't need it anyways- I'd already memorized her words.

Knowing that they were happy brought a strange ache to my chest. I missed them all terribly, especially Alice. But again, I knew what I was doing was best. They'd all be dead too if I hadn't come to Italy.

I opened the next letter, addressed to the same alias, but in an unfamiliar handwriting. It was postmarked from a city in Brazil. I didn't know who it could be from and if I had been human, I was sure my hands would be shaking with fear.

I slipped the single sheet of paper out of the envelope and the scent, though faint from the strain of traveling, hit me like a freight train.

Woodsy.

Sweet.

Cinnamon.

_Leah._

As it turned out, my hands _did _tremble as I poured the rest of the contents out of the envelope. A single earring fell into my palm: a one-of-a-kind diamond that had once belonged to my mother. The same pair that I'd slipped into Leah's pocket along with Alice's phone number the day I left. I knew it was Leah's way of letting me know it was really her. I smiled again despite myself as I read her words over and over. There were just three of them, a simple enough direction.

One that she'd hoped- no, she'd _known_ I would follow.

I looked around nervously and listened to the crowd while I thought.

It didn't take me long to make my decision. It was the decision I'd wanted to make the minute I set foot on the plane to Italy. One I knew would cause a lifetime of worry and an eternity of running. It was what I wanted to keep Leah from, what I had been trying to protect her against.

I was so sure the moment I left her that we would both better off. Leah had known better, though, and for that I was grateful.

If we were going to run, we would do it together.

"Don't let me down, Alice," I muttered and hoped Alice could still see me. I was going to need her more than ever.

I tucked Leah's letter in my pocket, and quickly slipped through the crowd. It didn't take long before I was running and leaving my own personal hell behind.

Her words were the only thing I could see:

_Come get me._

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><p><em><em>**Thank you all so much for reading and taking a chance on my first AU! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! **

**XOXO, **

**Ashley **


	10. Seven Days Extra: Only

**Ohai. SM owns them. Killerlashes betas. **

**Huge, giant, amazing thanks to MJinAspen, einfach_mich, mycrookedsmile, and jessypt for the lovely, beautiful, and perfect reccs on The Fictionators and The Perv Pack. I'm still in awe. I hope you enjoy this teeny little glimpse. **

**XOXO, **

**Ashley**

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><p>Seven Days – Only<p>

A beach, nighttime, Brazil, the waves crashing onto the shore, over her feet, and seeping into the sand around her. I heard her before I could see her; I could hear her breathing, hear her heart beating slow and steady, and then there was the quietness that was her mind…a place that I wanted to get lost in forever.

"Haven't you made me wait long enough?" she whispered, her eyes still trained on the water in front of her. I gave a soft laugh and made my way to her. She was right: it had taken me a while to get to her.

It had been weeks of disposable phones and numerous emails with Alice, while keeping myself hidden. Weeks of running and wondering if Leah was okay. Alice assured me everything was fine and that they'd been in contact. She also saw no immediate threat from Aro, though we both knew that wouldn't last long.

"What's a few months in the grand scheme of things?" I asked when I was less than five feet away from her.

"Too long," she said softly, her back still to me.

"Leah…are you sure?" I took another cautious step.

She turned to me finally, a smile playing on her pretty lips. It was dark, but we could see each other perfectly.

"Yes," she answered with a small shrug.

"Yes?"

"Ninety years of being chief emo-vamp really did a number on you, didn't it?" Leah raised an eyebrow at me and I bit back my chuckle.

I smiled. "Shut up."

"Kiss me," she commanded quietly. I was there in less than a second, her warm body pressed against mine, and her hands tugging impatiently at my hair.

"Tell me this is real," I murmured when she finally released me in order to breathe.

"You promised me it was," Leah said with her eyes still focused on my mouth.

"It's not going to be easy," I cautioned.

She frowned, and then leaned up to kiss me again. As she did, she opened her mind to me– to the six months that I'd missed.

There was pain and anger when she told her family about us, hurt and confusion when she decided to leave. She was scared, but so very sure that what she was doing was right. And then there was the one thing that I hadn't felt in so long…maybe ever.

_Love. _

We didn't say it, but I was sure we both felt it. So sure. It was the only thing worth risking everything for, that was something we both knew.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I framed her face in my hands.

She gave a shuddering breath and shook her head. "They understand."

"Do you?" I asked, my worry still plaguing me even though she was safe and warm in my arms.

"I know what I'm doing, Edward," Leah said with a quiet sigh. The way my name fell from her lips had quickly become my favorite sound.

"What about your future? A family? Kids?"

"Did you really come all the way from Italy to talk me out of this? Out of you?" Leah slipped away and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She narrowed her eyes and I recoiled slightly.

"I just want you to consider all your options…" I muttered and looked at my feet.

"You're my only option, Edward. And I'm yours. Stop fighting it."

"I'm not!" I cried, and reached for her again. "I've just never been this…"

"I know." She breathed the words and held her hand out to me. I pulled her close, burying my face in my hair and breathing her in.

"We've got a few weeks here. Alice will let us know– "

She grinned. "I know. We've spoken."

I sighed. "Of course."

"I like her," Leah said as she laced her fingers together at the base of my neck and nuzzled my chin.

I rolled my eyes. "Fantastic."

"Oh, just be happy we get along."

"This is going to be a long eternity," I grumbled.

Leah threw her head back and laughed loudly.

"One can only hope, Edward. One can only hope," she said before I brushed my lips against hers one more time.


	11. Seven Days Extra: Enough

**Well, I can't seem to let anything go. **

**Here's a little glimpse into the future. **

**SMeyer owns all things and a lot more things than me probably. **

**Huge thanks to ThatIsRiddik for prereading and killerlashes for betaing. :) **

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><p>Seven Days – Enough<p>

The children run down the street, laughing and playing, and I can feel myself smiling at them. They live in a place where their next meal isn't always accounted for, but their lives are still filled with so much joy. Sometimes it makes me yearn for my own mother, but I know that this way is better.

Safer.

It's been fifteen years since Edward found me on the beach in Brazil.

Fifteen years of running.

Aliases.

Hiding.

Fifteen years of pure, unadulterated bliss.

Finding each other was what ultimately saved both of our lives, we knew that for certain. Of course, we aren't completely out of the woods. There have been close calls throughout the years, but Alice never failed to keep us informed and ready. Recently an outbreak of immortal children helped us out, however. We'd beedn in our village for almost a year without any sign of the Volturi. Apparently blood-sucking babies were more important than us, and that was okay.

"They're such adorable little heathens, really," Edward says from beside me, watching as the children finally reached their homes.

I turn to him and burst out laughing. "You've got paint all over you!" I giggle and swipe at a splotch of blue on his otherwise perfect cheek. "Were you attacked by a pack of rabid Jackson Pollocks?"

"Yes. Tiny, giggling five-year-old Pollocks. I'll have to mention to Alice that all supplies must be washable," he mutters dryly, and wipes his hands on his stained t-shirt.

I laugh and lean up to kiss him. "And have her send you some new shirts?" His arms wrap around me, the cool press of his skin against mine so perfectly familiar after all this time.

"Definitely. Let's go home," he says as he holds out his hand. We close up the tiny school we'd been working at and make our way to the dilapidated little "shack", for lack of a better word, where we were currently residing.

It has a small galley kitchen and- luxury of luxuries for this village- a separate bedroom that was just big enough for a full-sized bed, though I was the only one to sleep in it. There was plenty of wildlife surrounding us for Edward to hunt, and a little open-air market where I shopped if I wasn't in the mood to be a total savage.

We'd been in so many different places, but the little village in Guyana we were currently in felt the most like home. Well, besides being with Edward's family. I was right when I told Edward that Alice and I would get along well. We were exact opposites, so we loved each other- that is, once Alice realized there was absolutely no way I would let her use me as a life-size Barbie. Jasper, Emmett, and I bonded over teasing Edward, while Carlisle and Esme were as loving and nurturing as my own mother.

Rosalie, on the other hand, took some getting used to.

Apparently she was very protective of Edward. Apparently Edward had no idea either.

"_Will you stop fucking glaring at me please, Rosalie? It's been six months already, don't you have any other facial expressions?" I finally snapped after tiring of seeing 'that' look on her stunning face. _

_Emmett laughed and covered it up with a cough, while Edward's eyebrows threatened to disappear into his hair. _

"_I'm still waiting for you to run, Leah. Forgive me." She smiled tightly, though her tone implied that forgiveness was the last thing on her mind. _

"_Why are you so worried? Edward is kind of an adult, he can take care of himself!" _

"_Hey!" Edward cried indignantly, but I shushed him with a wave of my hand. "I'm totally an adult..." he muttered under his breath. _

_Rosalie cracked a real smile and I saw Edward's head snap in her direction. He gave a brief nod and she sighed. _

"_Fine," she said curtly before stalking away. Emmett followed, wide-eyed, while Edward laughed. _

"_What did she ask you?" I ask him. _

_He smiled and slipped an arm around my waist. "She asked if you were worth it." _

"_And...?" I prompted. _

_He simply kissed me and made me forget my question. _

It took five years for Rosalie to understand I wasn't going anywhere.

"Did you write your mother back?" Edward asks as we walked hand-in-hand down the dirt street, shooing indignantly clucking chickens from our path.

I nod and lean into his side, opening my thoughts to him about the events I'd told her about.

He chuckles. "I don't know why they insist on throwing things at me." Edward shakes his head.

"They like you." I smile.

"Mutual feelings, definitely." He nods and kisses my forehead. "It makes me sad sometimes, you know."

"What does?" I ask, following his gaze, and seeing the subjects of our conversation were back out in the streets. He frowns down at me, tawny eyes tightening with pain.

"That I can't give that to you." Edward touches my face softly and I vehemently shake my head. "A couple heathens of our own."

"No. It's not…you know how I feel. You know that _I_ can't have that anyways," I say, taking his face in my hands and pulling him down to me. I open my mind once more and he presses his forehead to mine. I'd realized things were different with my body after the first few times I'd phased. I knew that a family, _children_, were not for me: I'd accepted that long ago.

"I know, sweetheart, I know," he soothes me and kisses me gently. "I just think…in another life maybe."

"Yes, where we meet in college."

"And I ask you to marry me on a lake in Italy," he whispers, and I rub my thumb over the thin, gold band on my left hand. Actually, it was a frozen lake in Alaska.

"We have three kids. Two boys and a girl," I add.

"And a cat." I wrinkle my nose. "Okay, a dog," he laughs.

"Too bad we're stuck in _this _life." I grin up at him and he rolls his eyes.

"I like this life," Edward says softly with his lips against my ear.

I squeeze his hand. "Yeah, I like this life, too."


	12. Seven Days Extra: Goodbye, Hello Pt 1

**A little Merry early Christmas here. This is a two-parter. Killerlashes still does stuff when I need her. I hope you enjoy. XOXO**

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><p>Goodbye, Hello - Part One<p>

I watched the trees go by in a blur as the car moved quickly down the highway. They were blanketed in new snow, white and pure. I closed my eyes tried to imagine what it would feel like; it had been so long since we'd seen snow like this.

"What are you thinking?" Edward asked with his quiet, melodic voice as he reached for my hand. My eyes opened when his cool skin touched mine.

"You mean you can't hear me?" I smirked so he squeezed my fingers.

"You've shut me out," he replied. I didn't respond, just turned my attention back to the snow.

He was right. I had been shutting him out of my mind lately, but only because it was too painful to share with him.

"I was thinking about snow," I said with a shrug.

"Snow?"

"Yeah. It's been so long since we've seen it like this, you know? The warm weather has spoiled us."

"Hm," was he said.

"It's just..."

"Leah, I can't imagine what this is like for you. I just want to be there for you any way I can," Edward told me, bringing my hand to his cold lips.

"I know," I sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Please don't apologize. I have an eternity to wait for you, you know," he said with a grin.

"Lucky bastard," I teased weakly.

"Absolutely."

We fell silent after that, and Edward turned on the radio. He tuned it to a classical station and I rolled my eyes while making a silent but snide comment.

"Oh, you let me hear _that_," Edward groaned and I laughed.

"Love you."

Edward just shook his head and kissed my hand again. It wasn't long after that the scenery became familiar and my stomach began to tie itself in knots.

"I'm okay," I said after feeling his worried gaze on me. He didn't respond as he parked the car, but kept a firm grip on my hand after we got out. In his other hand was a beautiful Christmas wreath that I could hardly stand to look at.

"Here," I said in barely a whisper, but I knew he would have no trouble hearing me.

Edward- my husband, my _mate_- stepped forward and placed the wreath on my mother's headstone. I felt emptier at the loss of his touch, though it was nothing compared to the feeling of the loss of my mother.

It was unexpected: an aneurysm; there was nothing they could do. Alice was the one who let us know. She'd been monitoring my mother for me, considering she couldn't _see_ Seth, Alice felt it was the least she could do. Of course, my mother and I had been corresponding through letters for years so she had kept me updated on my little brother. My little brother who was thirty-five and married with two kids now.

I still looked like I was nineteen. (And my husband was a seventeen-year-old.)

Edward's arm around my shoulders brought me back to the present. He kissed my head as I leaned into him, and I felt warm tears spill down my cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Leah," he murmured against my hair. "Tell me what I can do."

I shook my head as I turned into him, burying myself against his cold chest and _finally_ opening my mind to him.

_Guilt_.

That was the most prominent thought in my mind. Not the grief or the pain...just the guilt. It was all I had felt since Alice had given us the news. All I could think was that I should have been here with her, how I shouldn't have run off twenty years ago. How if I would have stayed I wouldn't have Edward.

"She wanted you to be happy, Leah," Edward said softly. I just rested my chin on his shoulder and let him hold me.

"It doesn't make it any easier."

"I know it doesn't, but-" Edward stopped speaking and stiffened, and so did I.

"We're not alone," I whispered before pulling away. Edward's eyes locked with mine and we both took a deep breath. We had become very good at reading each other through our years. It was almost like Edward wasn't the only mind reader anymore.

"No. It's safe," he said, answering my unspoken question and then, before I could speak again, I heard it.

"Leah?"

I turned slowly at the sound of my name and came face to face with my brother.


	13. Goodbye, Hello Pt 2

**Here's the last little bit. Thank you for reading! XOXO**

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><p>Goodbye, Hello - Part Two<p>

My first thought was of how tall Seth was. When I'd left he was nearly as tall as me, but now it was clear that he would tower over me. He was even taller than Edward, though his shoulders were broader.

"My shoulders are fine," Edward whispered teasingly and I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Is he...like me?" I asked, wondering if Edward could smell any different than I could. All I could really sense was my brother.

"I don't think so," he murmured as he slipped away. Only our fingers were still laced together. "Go, he thinks I'm keeping you from him."

I gave Edward's hand a tight squeeze and slowly walked towards Seth. I wanted nothing more than to run and jump into his arms, but I didn't know how he would react or if I would hurt him.

"It's you? Really?" Seth asked once we were a few feet apart. I nodded and studied his face for a long moment. He had aged, that was obvious. His eyes were bright and there was a few days of scruff covering his face. My brother was so handsome, just like our father.

"It's me," I said quietly.

"You look the same," he replied as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"You don't."

"One of us had to grow up, Lee-Lee." The tone of his voice wrapped around my nickname caught me off guard. He was angry and at that moment...I didn't blame him.

"Seth..."

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you're right. I've been selfish and-" I could hardly get the words out before a sob built up in my throat and cut them off. Before I knew what was happening I was wrapped up in a warm embrace, held tightly against a beating heart.

"I've missed you so much," Seth said into my hair, his voice thick with emotion.

I nodded against his chest and wrapped my arms around him. Edward was right: Seth was no longer shifting. I wasn't sure how I knew, but somehow I did. The thought that my brother could lead a normal life made me feel more happiness than I had in a long time.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, but Seth pushed my shoulders back and shook his head, his dark eyes locked with mine.

"No. I understand, Leah. It took me a while, but I get it. I get wanting to choose your own destiny."

"Did you? Get to choose, I mean?"

He smiled and pulled me to him again. "Yeah, I did. It's a good one too."

"So is mine," I said quietly, but knew Edward could hear me because I heard _him_ chuckle.

"I'm glad." Seth smiled down at me and caught a lock of my hair between his fingers. "Would you like to meet my family?"

"Can he come too?" I asked with a smile and gestured toward Edward, who was waiting patiently. "He's housebroken, I promise."

Seth laughed and Edward called out, "Not funny," in my direction.

"He can come. You can follow me," Seth told me before walking away. I made it back to Edward at a faster than human pace and threw myself into his arms.

"Let's go," he said before kissing me softly.

"You're sure?"

"Leah, you've spent plenty of time with my family. I think I can handle this. It's Christmas, after all."

I grinned, unable to contain my excitement. "Edward he has _kids_," I said with a sigh once we were in the car. "My brother is a _dad_."

Edward just smiled and squeezed my knee, no doubt thinking about the conversation we'd had so many years ago. We lived around children, they were our life, but I knew that they weren't for me. I knew that my body was different and I'd come to terms with that. I don't think Edward really ever did, though.

We followed Seth's pickup truck to a modest house outside of Forks. In the driveway was a small SUV and a police car: Seth's.

"Still keeping the peace?" I asked once we were standing in the front yard.

Seth shrugged. "I do what I can. Are you ready?" He held his hand out to me and I nodded.

"Do we, uh, need a cover story?" I asked before we got to the front door.

"I don't have any secrets from Angela," Seth replied glancing from me to Edward. Edward raised his eyebrows at me and then smiled.

"We should probably go in before the little ones explode with excitement, then," my husband said, so Seth quickly opened the door.

I stood back and watched as his children greeted him with smiles and kisses like he had been gone for days instead of just a few hours. Seth laughed with them before straightening himself out and turning to Edward and I.

"Who are you?" The little girl looked up at us with eyes like my mother's.

"I'm your Aunt Leah, and this is Uncle Edward," I told her as I held back tears. Beside me, Edward beamed.

"You're pretty," she replied and it took me a moment to realize she wasn't talking to me. Edward laughed and squeezed my shoulder. "I'm Ava. Do you want to see my new dollhouse?" She asked, holding out a tiny hand to Edward. He smiled and took it, letting her lead him away. "Your hands are cold," I heard her say as they disappeared around the corner.

"This is Sawyer," Seth introduced his son to me, who was the older of the two and a spitting image of Seth when he was younger. "And I think you might remember Angela."

I turned to see his wife, my sister-in-law, smiling widely at me. She was familiar- from a lifetime ago.

"I'm glad you finally made it home, Leah," her voice is soft and sweet, like Edward's.

"Me too," is all I managed to say.

I spent most of the afternoon with Seth and Angela, letting them fill me in on stories of everyone we used to know. Seth was right: he didn't have any secrets from Angela. I was right too: he didn't shift anymore.

"We killed him, you know? The tracker that was here," Seth told me while we were cleaning up the table from dinner. Edward appeared in the kitchen out of nowhere and his hands gripped my shoulders tightly.

"It was Dimitri? You're sure?" He asked softly and Seth nodded.

Edward exhaled and pressed a kiss to my hair.

"What does this mean?" I asked, glancing between Edward and Seth.

"It means we can come home, Leah." Edward smiled and it was like staring at the sun.

It was strange to think that this was our home, because for the last twenty years anywhere Edward had been was what I thought of as home. But now...now we stay and watch Seth's children grow. We could see our family whenever wanted.

"Why didn't Alice see?" I wondered out loud and Edward shrugged.

"Maybe it was the wolves. Or maybe it was your future, you know she can't see you."

I didn't think about it anymore. Well, I didn't really have time to. A moment later Sawyer burst into the kitchen and dragged Edward away while Edward grinned stupidly at us the whole time.

"He's good with them," Seth said before handing me a beer. His smile was tight and I caught the underlying message.

"He's very controlled, Seth. He doesn't...I wouldn't be with him if he did."

"I know, I know." My brother rolled his eyes and then laughed loudly. "Wait. Are you old enough to drink?"

I glared at him and then slugged him in the shoulder.

"Ow! I'm not like you anymore!" Seth whined and I heard Edward laugh from the other room.

"I will always be your big sister, Seth," I teased. Seth just gave me a non-committal shrug and led me to the back porch.

"You're happy, right?" He asked once we were outside. "With your choice?"

I took a deep breath, knowing that Edward could hear what we were saying _and_ thinking.

"It's funny, actually. I never thought I would imprint like the others did. Being the only girl in the pack was hard, you know? I knew that I could never have kids, so I was pretty positive that it would never happen for me...but I was okay with that."

"What changed?"

"I don't know what imprinting feels like, Seth, but...but with Edward I feel like I belong. It's like we're tied together, like I was meant to find him that day."

Seth watched me for a long moment before he reached over and took my hand. He held it tightly, and I didn't need him to say anything. I knew he understood. He understood for the same reason that I understood why he no longer shifted. I knew it wasn't who he wanted to be; I'd always known it.

We were both dealt a fate that we never asked for, but we were strong enough to overcome it. In the end we had exactly what we wanted.

After the children went to bed and Uncle Edward promised to come back and play video games with Sawyer and dolls with Ava, we made our way to the home that Edward's family still kept in Forks- just in case.

It was clean and not lived it, but that was going to change, of that I was sure.

"Oh, you're sure, are you?" Edward smirked at me and I lifted an eyebrow at me.

"Well, technically you're dead so-" my words were cut off by his lips against mine and before I knew it I was on my back in a very familiar bed.

Edward was hovering over me, grinning widely as his body pressed against mine.

"You make me feel alive, though."

All I could do was smile.


End file.
